David Smith
Stories by David
State’s April home sales drop 10%
posted: 05/25/2012 4:29 a.m. Discuss
Home sales in Arkansas fell 10 percent in April compared with April last year, continuing a slow start to the real estate market for 2012, the Arkansas Realtors Association said Thursday.
State banks’ assets up 17% in 4 years, topping U.S. pace
posted: 05/24/2012 3:23 a.m. Discuss
Assets at Arkansas banks have jumped more than 17 percent in the past four years, outpacing the 6.5 percent growth of banks in the United States, according to statistics from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
New-vehicle registrations slip 18%
posted: 05/23/2012 3:31 a.m. Discuss
Registration of new vehicles in Arkansas declined in April, the first time in 19 months, a Kentucky automotive research firm says.
State jobless rate falls to 7.2%, lowest since ’09
posted: 05/19/2012 3:35 a.m. Comment 1
Arkansas’ unemployment rate continued its decline in April, dropping two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month to 7.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.
Acxiom earnings out of red
posted: 05/16/2012 3:54 a.m. Discuss
Acxiom Corp. earned $46.1 million in its fiscal fourth quarter, up from a loss of $67.1 million a year earlier, the Little Rock marketing services provider said Tuesday.
Democrat-Gazette bucks trend, retains print subscribers
posted: 05/13/2012 3:42 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ranks 25th among all metropolitan dailies in terms of print editions sold, even though the Little Rock market is the 72nd largest.
Windstream meets forecast, reports doubled earnings
posted: 05/11/2012 1:53 a.m. Discuss
Windstream Corp. earned $64.6 million in net income for the first quarter, more than double its earnings from a year earlier, the Little Rock company said Thursday.
Murphy profits gush up by 7.9%
posted: 05/03/2012 4:42 a.m. Discuss
Murphy Oil’s first-quarter earnings rose 7.9 percent to $290.1 million, up from $268.9 million a year earlier, the El Dorado-based firm said Wednesday.
Newspaper’s Sunday circulation up 2.7% in year
posted: 05/02/2012 3:46 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s average Sunday circulation rose by 2.7 percent in the 12 months ending March 31, while weekday circulation fell 1.8 percent, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Entergy exit plan faulted by PSC
posted: 04/28/2012 3:01 a.m. Comments 2
Entergy Arkansas’ plan to join a Midwestern organization that coordinates the electricity grid in 13 states is not in the public interest, the general staff of the Arkansas Public Service Commission said Friday.
State sees new-auto sign-ups rise 22%
posted: 04/25/2012 4:23 a.m. Discuss
New-vehicle registrations in Arkansas jumped 22 percent in March compared with March of last year, a research firm said Tuesday.
2 state banks top performance list
posted: 04/24/2012 2:26 a.m. Discuss
Bank of the Ozarks of Little Rock and First Security Bancorp of Searcy ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, among the best-performing regional banks in the country last year, a Virginia financial research firm reported.
Code waivers in Hot Springs called harmful
posted: 04/22/2012 4:07 a.m. Discuss
Hot Springs, long a tourist attraction because of its waters and landmark buildings, has encountered an obstacle to a vision for reinvigoration of the city.
State jobless rate 7.4% in March, lowest in 3 years
posted: 04/21/2012 2:15 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas unemployment rate dipped to 7.4 percent in March from 7.6 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.
Conway bank’s earnings up 21%
posted: 04/20/2012 2:56 a.m. Discuss
Home BancShares, which owns 101 Centennial Bank branches in Arkansas, Alabama and Florida, had a record $14.5 million in earnings in the first quarter, the Conway bank said Thursday.
Simmons’ quarter tops expectations
posted: 04/20/2012 2:54 a.m. Discuss
Simmons First National’s first-quarter earnings were $6.4 million, up 25 percent from $5.1 million in the same period last year, the Pine Bluff-based bank said Thursday.
Entergy offers PSC authority for 5 years
posted: 04/14/2012 2:41 a.m. Comments 2
Entergy Arkansas proposed Friday that the Arkansas Public Service Commission could continue its regulatory authority over the electric utility for five years if Entergy is allowed to join a Midwestern transmission organization.
23% earnings jump by Bank of Ozarks earns analyst kudos
posted: 04/13/2012 3:02 a.m. Discuss
Bank of the Ozarks’ earnings jumped 23 percent in the first quarter, the Little Rock-based lender said Thursday.
LR bank gets 2nd sanction in 4 years
posted: 04/12/2012 4:15 a.m. Discuss
The federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued its second sanction against Little Rock’s Metropolitan National Bank in the past four years, the bank said Wednesday.
JBU team’s business plan takes prize
posted: 04/12/2012 4:11 a.m. Discuss
Three John Brown University undergraduate students did a Google search that led to an idea for a business plan that won a $25,000 first-place prize Wednesday in the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup competition.
Home sales surge 15% for February
posted: 04/05/2012 4:11 a.m. Discuss
Arkansas home sales jumped 15 percent in February compared with a year earlier, the largest increase since August, the Arkansas Realtors Association said Wednesday.
Employment up despite mass layoffs
posted: 04/03/2012 2:39 a.m. Discuss
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Monday that there were a record 154 “mass layoffs” — reductions of at least 50 workers — last year in Arkansas for a record 16,665 people who lost their jobs.
Banks to lose business account coverage
posted: 04/01/2012 3:23 a.m. Discuss
A federal program that provides insurance coverage for business transaction accounts at banks is scheduled to expire at the end of December, leaving those in the industry and others with varying opinions about the impact.
State’s jobless rate remains at 7.6%
posted: 03/31/2012 3:12 a.m. Discuss
Arkansas’ unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.6 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.
12 of Arkansas’ 16 public firms show quarterly stock rise
posted: 03/31/2012 2:59 a.m. Discuss
First Federal Bancshares of Arkansas jumped 58 percent in the first quarter, outperforming the stock of every other public company in the state.
Income measure up 3.7% in state
posted: 03/29/2012 3:27 a.m. Comment 1
Arkansas' per-capita income increased 3.7 percent to $34,014 last year compared with 2010, trailing the nation’s growth of 4.3 percent and the increases of 41 states, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said Wednesday.
Maker of app to add 30 jobs
posted: 03/28/2012 3:06 a.m. Discuss
PrivacyStar, a Conway based smart-phone application company, plans to hire 30 employees this year at salaries ranging from $50,000 to $100,000, the firm’s chief executive officer, Jeff Stalnaker, said Tuesday.
More go get tags for new vehicles
posted: 03/21/2012 3:39 a.m. Discuss
Arkansans continued their penchant for new vehicles in February, as registrations jumped significantly compared with February last year, a Kentucky-based auto research firm said Tuesday.
As state’s banks lose value, buyouts foreseen
posted: 03/18/2012 3:31 a.m. Discuss
In the next few years, experts anticipate, many small, healthy banks in and outside of Arkansas will be sold.
Filing opposes Entergy’s move
posted: 03/17/2012 3:24 a.m. Comments 3
Entergy Arkansas’ plans to join Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, a 13-state regional transmission organization, should not be approved, a consultant told the Arkansas Public Service Commission in a filing Friday.
State’s jobless rate falls to 7.6%
posted: 03/14/2012 4:20 a.m. Discuss
Arkansas' unemployment rate in January dropped to its lowest level since August 2009, falling to 7.6 percent from 7.8 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday.
Group praises state ‘fracking’ rules
posted: 03/10/2012 3:14 a.m. Discuss
A nonprofit group that reviews states’ regulation of the oil and gas industry has given the Arkansas process a generally good report on hydraulic fracturing.
Printer to close, cutting 600 jobs
posted: 03/09/2012 5:32 a.m. Discuss
A Jonesboro printing plant will start cutting jobs next month and will shut down by the fall, costing 600 workers their employment.
High court hears Ticketmaster suit
posted: 03/09/2012 4:35 a.m. Comment 1
Ticketmaster is violating Arkansas’ ticket-scalping law because it charges more than the box-office price, an Arkadelphia attorney argued Thursday before the Arkansas Supreme Court.
State’s exports grow 13.2% in ’10
posted: 03/08/2012 3:40 a.m. Comment 1
More than $11 billion in goods and services were exported by Arkansas in 2010, a 13.2 percent increase over 2009, according to a report released today by the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program.
Conway firm’s CEO receives $867,000 in bank’s record year
posted: 03/07/2012 3:38 a.m. Comments 4
Randy Sims, chief executive officer of Home BancShares, earned a base salary of $310,000 and total compensation of $867,000 in 2011, according to the Conway banking firm’s proxy statement.
Batesville will gain a factory for ATVs
posted: 03/02/2012 2:42 a.m. Comment 1
Bad Boy Mowers, a manufacturer of zero-turn lawn mowers and all-terrain vehicles, plans to invest $7.4 million and hire 150 workers over the next five years, the Batesville firm said Thursday.
PSC delays Entergy increase request, wants a closer look
posted: 03/01/2012 4:46 a.m. Comments 2
The Arkansas Public Service Commission will scrutinize a request by Entergy Arkansas to recover $156 million from its customers for a payment it made last year.
Despite illness, chief says bank thriving
posted: 03/01/2012 4:44 a.m. Discuss
J. Thomas May said Wednesday that his six-year bout with Lou Gehrig’s disease has not kept him from leading one of the largest banks in the state.
State’s banks report fewer overdue loans
posted: 02/26/2012 3:27 a.m. Discuss
The number of nonperforming loans — those more than 90 days past due — is shrinking at banks in Arkansas’ metropolitan areas, according to fourth-quarter financial data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Recession weathered, Park Avenue scores upscale apartments
posted: 02/25/2012 2:51 a.m. Discuss
After years of delays because of the chilling effect of the recession on retail expansion, the Park Avenue mixed use development in midtown Little Rock has scored its second major component.
LR firm reports loss in quarter
posted: 02/23/2012 4:28 a.m. Discuss
Windstream Corp. lost $31.9 million in the fourth quarter because of costs related to a change in its pension plan accounting and to a $2.3 billion acquisition, the Little Rock firm said Wednesday.
Company to build 3rd hotel in LR
posted: 02/17/2012 4:07 a.m. Comment 1
The McKibbon Hotel Group Inc. plans to build its third hotel in downtown Little Rock, a spokesman for the Gainesville, Ga., company said Thursday.
Entergy joining grid worries states
posted: 02/16/2012 5:27 a.m. Comments 4
Utility regulators who oversee Entergy Corp. in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are concerned that if Entergy joins a Midwestern transmission organization the regulators will lose oversight of the company.
Four join Business Hall of Fame
posted: 02/11/2012 3:28 a.m.
Discuss
About three years after Walter E. Hussman Jr. took over as publisher of the Arkansas Democrat in 1974, the paper was in such poor condition that he thought there was only one way to remain in business — ask his rival to agree to a joint operating agreement.
In filings, ex-exec takes IRS to task
posted: 02/11/2012 3:19 a.m. Discuss
The Internal Revenue Service ordered Ed Harvey, owner of a Little Rock trucking company, to appear for questioning about an unpaid payroll-tax bill in 2008, but he never complied and the IRS never pursued the matter, filings this week in a federal lawsuit indicate.
Loans registry is legal in state
posted: 02/09/2012 4:13 a.m. Discuss
The New York attorney general has sued several large national banks, saying they have used an electronic mortgage registry in residential foreclosures to the disadvantage of homeowners.
LR clinics join mergers trend
posted: 02/05/2012 4:27 a.m. Discuss
The three largest cardiology clinics in Little Rock have announced mergers with hospitals in the city, a move that in some cases will raise clinic physicians’ incomes and increase the cost of services for patients.
In state, car sales cruised for 2011
posted: 02/01/2012 5:25 a.m. Discuss
New-vehicle registrations in Arkansas last year were up 22 percent from 2010, according to an auto research firm.
Acxiom quarter profits fall 60%
posted: 02/01/2012 5:21 a.m. Discuss
Net income fell about 60 percent for Acxiom Corp. in its third quarter that ended Dec. 31, the Little Rock marketing services provider said Tuesday.
