David Smith

Report: Turk plant is 15% in

SWEPCO work is told to PSC

Construction of Southwestern Electric Power Co.’s $2.1 billion coal plant in Hempstead County is about 15 percent complete — essentially on schedule — the independent consultant monitoring the project said Thursday in a regulatory filing.
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State sees uptick in auto titling

A steep decline in auto registrations through the first eight months of the year slowed considerably in September, primarily because of the government’s “cash-for-clunkers” incentive program, statistics from a Kentucky research firm indicate.
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Energy firm sets rate rise request

Southwestern Electric Power Co.’s request for a $17.8 million rate increase will cost the average customer $3.84 a month, according to testimony at the Arkansas Public Service Commission on Monday.
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LR bank posts $13.7 million loss

Metropolitan’s CEO predicts return to profitability in 2010

Metropolitan National Bank, the sixth-largest Arkansas-based bank, lost $13.7 million in the third quarter, the Little Rock institution said Friday.
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Utilities: Natural gas rates to drop

Large stockpile tied to price dip

It will cost most Arkansans less to heat their homes this winter, the state’s three largest providers of natural gas said Friday in their annual winter rates filings with the Arkansas Public Service Commission.
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870 area code flush till 2013, PSC hears

Prefix capacity extended 2 years

It will take longer for the 870 area code to run out of numbers than previously expected, the Arkansas Public Service Commission was told Wednesday.
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Democrat-Gazette now 42nd-largest despite reader loss

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette climbed to the 42nd-largest newspaper in the country even though its weekday circulation fell 3.9 percent to 169,458 through Sept. 30 compared with September of last year. The paper was the 47th-largest in the country in a March 31 report.
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Stephens execs say inflation looms

3 contradict and blame Fed, cite doubled monetary base

A team of Stephens Inc. executives believes that inflation will begin to rise early next year, a view that contrasts with opinions expressed by most economists.
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Georgia-Pacific plans to lay off 300 in Fordyce

Nation’s housing skid blamed

Georgia-Pacific will lay off about 300 workers in Fordyce for up to six months, idling the first plywood plant built in the South, the wood products firm said Friday.
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State jobless rate sticks at 7.1%; job losses up

Arkansas lost more jobs in the 12 months ending in September than in any one-year period in nearly 20 years.
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