News in brief

United Airlines to get new chief exec in '20

United Airlines will be under new leadership next year with the company's president, Scott Kirby, taking over as chief executive officer.

CEO Oscar Munoz recruited Kirby from American Airlines in 2016, where he had been considered as the likely successor to CEO Doug Parker.

Shares of American Airlines are down almost 30% in the past year, and there were rumors that the carrier was considering bringing him back for the top job.

"One of my goals as CEO was to put in place a successful leadership transition for United Airlines," said Munoz in a statement Thursday. "I brought Scott to United three years ago, and I am confident that there is no one in the world better equipped to lead United to even greater heights."

Munoz, an industry outsider when he took the job shortly before hiring Kirby, will become executive chairman at United in May. He will serve in that role for a year. Munoz was recruited from the railroad company CSX Corp., where he was the chief operating officer.

Munoz visited Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Highfill in November to promote the airline's regional jet service.

-- The Associated Press

Mortgage rates flat; 30-year still 3.68%

WASHINGTON -- U.S. long-term mortgage rates held steady this week after mixed signs in the housing market.

Rates remain at historically low levels as a lure to prospective homebuyers. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the Federal Hone Loan Mortgage Corp., said Thursday that the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged from the previous week at 3.68%. By contrast, the benchmark rate stood at 4.75% a year ago.

The average rate on a 15-year mortgage ticked down to 3.14% this week from 3.15% last week.

A government report issued this week showed that spending on U.S. construction projects fell 0.8% in October, dragged down by declines in apartment and multifamily homebuilding. But spending on single-family home construction increased 1.6%, helping offset some of the losses elsewhere in the private construction category.

-- The Associated Press

State index edges higher by 0.96 point

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Thursday at 463.22, up 0.96.

"Equities edged higher today in advance of November payroll data, which will be released [this] morning, while the energy sector underperformed as OPEC members continued meetings in Vienna, Austria," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business on 12/06/2019

Upcoming Events