U.S. chamber exec
to speak on taxes
J.D. Foster, the senior vice president and chief economist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will be the keynote speaker at a one-day seminar Thursday on state tax legislation and issues.
Foster will be the featured speaker during the luncheon portion of the Arkansas Tax Conference, which will be held 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the Capital Hotel in downtown Little Rock.
The conference, hosted by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas, is an in-depth review of the legal, administrative and policy issues involving Arkansas taxes, a review of 2017 tax legislation and other developments. It also will include a presentation on federal tax reform and its impact on the state.
Officials from several state and county agencies, lawyers from three law firms and executives from several private companies also are on the agenda.
-- Noel Oman
Construction jobs up
in four metro areas
Construction employment increased in four of the five designated metropolitan areas in Arkansas in September compared with the same month in 2016, according to an analysis of federal employment data by the Associated General Contractors of America.
Statewide, construction, mining and logging employment rose 3 percent in Arkansas in the same period, to 59,000 from 57,400.
The Memphis metropolitan area, which includes parts of Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, saw the largest jump in the employment category. It increased 17 percent to 25,700 in September.
Construction, mining and logging employment in the Texarkana metropolitan area, which includes Texas and Arkansas, rose 7 percent to 2,900 in September.
The same employment category rose 6 percent in both the Fayetteville/Springdale/Rogers area, which includes Missouri, and the Little Rock/North Little Rock/Conway metropolitan areas, with September employment figures of 11,200 and 18,100, respectively.
-- Noel Oman
Arkansas Index rises
2.26, ends at 375.80
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 2.26 to 375.80 Tuesday.
"The major averages drifted higher as investors were largely unmoved by the latest round of earnings releases and economic updates," said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Simmons First Investment Group Inc. in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 23.2 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 11/01/2017