Simmons completes First South merger
Simmons First National Corp. has completed the computer conversion and merger with First South Bank of Jackson, Tenn., the Pine Bluff bank said Tuesday.
"This conversion was the culmination of countless hours spent by an outstanding group of associates dedicated to not only making this transition possible but also making it a success," said Marty Casteel, chairman and chief executive officer of Simmons Bank. "It was a team effort that requires the support of our entire organization, and we look forward to serving our expanded presence in western Tennessee."
Simmons also has received regulatory approval for its acquisitions of Southwest Bancorp of Stillwater, Okla., and Fort Worth-based First Texas Bank Holding Co., but those have not yet closed.
Simmons has $9.1 billion in assets, $6.2 billion in loans, $7.1 billion in deposits, 2,000 employees and more than 150 branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee.
With the completion of the Southwest Bancorp and First Texas purchases, Simmons will have about $14 billion in assets, Matt Olney, a banking analyst in Little Rock with Stephens Inc., said in a recent research brief.
-- David Smith
Aircraft slump hurts U.S. factory orders
WASHINGTON -- Orders at U.S. factories tumbled in July, dragged down by a sharp fall in orders for civilian aircraft.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that factory orders fell 3.3 percent in July, after a 3.2 percent gain last month. July's decline was mostly because of a 19.2 percent drop in orders in the volatile transportation equipment category. Orders for civilian aircraft -- which can vary wildly from month to month -- tumbled 70.8 percent in July after a 129.3 percent gain last month.
Excluding the transportation sector that includes aircraft, factory orders rose 0.5 percent in July after a 0.1 percent uptick last month.
A category that serves as a proxy for business investment posted a solid 1 percent gain after a 0.1 percent decline in June.
In recent months, U.S. manufacturing has been benefiting from a stronger dollar and an improving global economy. Growth has been picking up in Europe, Japan and parts of the developing world.
-- The Associated Press
Forecast jolts cotton, orange futures
Orange juice and cotton futures surged as Hurricane Irma strengthened to become a Category 5 storm and remained on track to reach the U.S. later this week, threatening crops in Southern states.
Orange juice for November delivery jumped as much as 6.1 percent to $1.448 a pound on Intercontinental Exchange Futures U.S. on Tuesday, the biggest intraday gain for the contract since June 26. Cotton for December delivery climbed as much as 3.5 percent to 74.36 cents a pound. The trading volumes for both commodities were above their respective 100-day averages, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Florida, the nation's top orange producer, has declared a state of emergency as Irma approaches the Caribbean. All of the state's crop is at risk of moderate to severe damage, with trees already full of fruit, Donald Keeney, meteorologist with MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Weather Services in Gaithersburg, Md., said in a telephone interview.
The Sunshine State is also the biggest U.S. sugar producer. Cane crops there may be knocked down and lose sugar content from heavy rains, Keeney said.
The risk from Irma comes as other cotton areas around the Gulf Coast struggle to recover from flooded fields caused by Hurricane Harvey. Cotton surged 5.5 percent last week after Harvey wreaked havoc to parts of Texas and growing regions around the Mississippi Delta. Cotton crops in parts of Georgia and South Carolina will be at risk of yield losses from Irma, according to the weather data service.
-- Bloomberg News
Airport mall will open to nontravelers
IMPERIAL, Pa. -- The Airmall at Pittsburgh International Airport was set to open daily to nonpassengers on Tuesday for the first time since security was tightened at airports nationwide after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants is protesting the plan, which they say removes an important layer of security at the airport, which opened in 1992.
At that time, the Airmall was a major feature. Its shops and restaurants are audited by Allegheny County, to ensure their prices are similar to those offered by the same businesses outside the airport.
The Allegheny County Airport Authority said the flight attendants' concerns are "misinformed" because Airmall shoppers still have to go through security just like passengers and be checked against the same federal no-fly list before shopping.
-- The Associated Press
Chicago firm buys famed NYC tabloid
NEW YORK -- The owner of two of the country's largest newspapers has purchased the Daily News, a New York tabloid that is famous for generations of hard-punching reporting and irreverent headlines but that has struggled recently to find its place in the digital age.
Chicago-based Tronc Inc., the publisher of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, announced the deal Monday night.
The purchase gives Tronc and its chairman, Michael Ferro, who spent most of his childhood on Long Island, another big brand name in old-school journalism.
The big question will be whether the company can find a way to make the newspaper lucrative again. The Daily News won a Pulitzer Prize this year but has suffered through rounds of layoffs and declining circulation.
Tronc Chief Executive Officer Justin Dearborn said acquiring the paper and its popular website would "provide us with another strategic platform for growing our digital business, expanding our reach and broadening our services for advertisers and marketers," and both Tronc and Daily News executives said the company would maintain the quality of the paper's journalism.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 09/06/2017