Friday, March 19, 2010 4:04 a.m.

Business*

Photo by PAUL SAKUMA / AP

Customers look at bagels at a Costco wholesale club store in Mountain View, Calif., earlier this month. The Labor Department said Wednesday that wholesale inflation dropped 0.6 percent in February.

ADVERSTISMENT

State’s January home sales drop

1.26% fewer houses move, but average price up 2.6% over ’09


Posted: March 19, 2010 2:19 a.m.

Arkansas home sales fell 1.26 percent in January, the first decline after four consecutive months in which sales increased over the previous year.
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No inflation, little hiring seen in U.S.


Posted: March 19, 2010 2:18 a.m.

The picture of an economy growing modestly without producing inflation yet struggling to create jobs emerged from government reports Thursday.
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S FDIC near decision on special guarantee

Business ‘transaction’ accounts targeted


Posted: March 19, 2010 2:17 a.m.

The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Thursday that the agency will decide soon whether to end a government guarantee for special deposit accounts in banks used by businesses.
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S FedEx chief delivers upbeat report

Shipper expects widening economic growth for U.S., world


Posted: March 19, 2010 2:16 a.m.

FedEx says the global economic recovery is broadening, as Asia continues to see strong growth and the U.S. economy gains steam.
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S Current account gap less for ’09

Despite year-end rise, deficit shrinks


Posted: March 19, 2010 2:15 a.m.

The current account trade deficit in the U.S. widened to $115.6 billion in the final three months of 2009, reflecting a bigger gain in imports than exports.
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S Developer’s filing bares debts of $169.6 million


Posted: March 19, 2010 2:14 a.m.

Court filings reveal Fayetteville real estate developer and investor John David Lindsey owes more than $169.6 million to creditors, more than $100 million of that to Arkansas banks.
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S MARKET REPORT: Stocks mixed on economic data


Posted: March 19, 2010 2:12 a.m.

Stocks ended mixed Thursday after reports signaled that the economy is slowly regaining strength.
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S NEWS IN BRIEF


Posted: March 19, 2010 2:11 a.m.

PB bank chief’s pay in ’09 down from ’08 J. Thomas May, chairman and chief executive officer for Simmons First National Bank, earned about $635,000 last year, the Pine Bluff bank said Thursday in its proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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S Business news in brief


Posted: March 19, 2010 2:11 a.m.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “I think it indicates not necessarily that home prices are rising, but that higher end of the market is showing a little more movement now.” Michael Pakko, state economic forecaster and chief economist at the Institute for Economic Advancement at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Article, 1D
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Wholesale prices dip the most in 7 months


Posted: March 18, 2010 4:11 a.m.

Prices at the wholesale level fell in February by the largest amount in seven months as a drop in energy prices offset higher food costs.
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Two plants on group’s mercury list


Posted: March 18, 2010 4:11 a.m.

Two Entergy Arkansas coal-fired power plants remain among the 50 worst mercury polluters in the country, according to a report released Wednesday by a nonprofit environmental organization.
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S Trucker C. Bean ceases driving

Fort Smith site to remain open


Posted: March 18, 2010 2:17 a.m.

C. Bean Transport Inc. of Fort Smith ceased over-the road operations Wednesday but will continue to operate its Fort Smith warehouse, according to Richard Bell of Bell Receivers LLC of North Little Rock.
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S OPEC leaves output unaltered

Move aims to signal stability during global recession


Posted: March 18, 2010 2:16 a.m.

OPEC oil ministers on Wednesday opted to keep their output targets unchanged in a bid to keep prices at present levels and send a message of stability to energyhungry economies struggling to emerge from recession.
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S Fed argues to keep all bank duties


Posted: March 18, 2010 2:15 a.m.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged Congress on Wednesday to let the Fed keep all of its banking oversight, arguing that information gleaned from that process helps the central bank guide the economy.
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S Roads, Internet key, say analysts


Posted: March 18, 2010 2:14 a.m.

Arkansas’ crumbling infrastructure needs to be addressed if the state wants to capitalize on the economic recovery when it comes, economists and state officials told those assembled for a teleconferenced breakfast briefing Wednesday.
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