Business*

Jobless rate rises to 10.2%

Level highest since 1983; climb not expected to stop

The unemployment rate in the U.S. rose to 10.2 percent in October, the Labor Department said Friday.
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Droid sent out to battle iPhone

Verizon’s smart phone employs Google’s Android operating system

In one corner is Apple’s iPhone. Launched in 2007, it revolutionized the smartphone market with its sleek exterior and a collection of applications that seems to grow more extensive by the day.
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NEWS IN BRIEF

Entergy’s quarterly profit up 5 percent Entergy Arkansas Inc. had net income of $52.9 million in the third quarter, Entergy Corp. of New Orleans said in its quarterly filing released Friday.
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State’s farm losses forecast to worsen

Just too much rain, researchers say

Arkansas farm losses due largely to an abnormally wet year are projected to be well over $225 million, a team of agricultural researchers said Friday.
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China bashes U.S. pipe tariffs, starts auto inquiry

China criticized Washington for imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made steel pipes and started an investigation Friday of imported U.S. autos, adding to trade tensions two weeks before President Barack Obama visits Beijing.
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G-20 seeking to secure post-recession growth

The world’s top finance officials sought agreement Friday on ways to secure future global economic growth as much of the world emerges from recession.
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Retailer war on prices mounts

Pre-Christmas sales push starts

Black Friday Christmas sale advertisements began showing up online late this week as a price war over online book and DVD sales escalated, driven largely by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
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Hay yield cut in half by rainfall

Record rainfall from one-after-another storms in September and October has halved the hay crop of some Arkansas farmers, according to state forage experts.
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MARKET REPORT Job news ray of light for investors

Investors added to the week’s strong gains in the stock market after finding some positives in a surprisingly weak jobs report.
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Bailout-flush Ally Bank irks rivals with deals, ads

Its TV and print ads poke fun at the baitand-switch tactics of other banks. Its interest rates on CDs have been the most generous in the industry.
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U.S. natural gas supply has 30 years left, Pickens says

T. Boone Pickens, who has spent more than a year telling Americans the answer to their energy woes is natural gas, said Thursday that the U.S. natural gas supply will probably dry up in about 30 years.
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Business news in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY “I’ve probably lost about $100,000 just on the alfalfa.” Jack Whitfield, owner of Toltec Hay Farm in Scott, who added that his entire 160 acres of top-quality alfalfa is dead.
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Conway plant to stop making school buses

Ax is over 477 jobs; work to go to Tulsa

The owner of school-bus maker IC Corp. in Conway told employees Thursday that it will soon cease assembling buses there and cut up to 477 jobs starting as early as January.
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Companies see productivity soar

Some analysts say workers’ stepped-up pace a hiring disincentive

Companies across the nation are finding ways to do more with fewer workers, dimming hopes that hiring will take off anytime soon.
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Sales up; stores look to Christmas

October’s retail sales results, the best performance since April 2008, show that Americans are spending a little more. But will they be willing to pay full price this Christmas season?
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