Monthly Archives: April 2011

President Barack Obama addressed the nation in an unexpected Sunday night speech declaring that 9-11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden had been killed and his body captured by American forces in Pakistan.

Little Rock-based Delta Trust and Bank makes its annual pilgrimage to Omaha, Nebraska to hear from Berkshire Hathaway officials, including legendary investor Warren Buffett. Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway are among the most respected leaders in the investment community and their reports and prognostications offer major insight on the current and future expectations for the economy.



It is the fifth year that Delta Trust has taken a group of interns from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) on the trip – described by some as the "Woodstock for Capitalism" – and 3 of them have agreed to share some of their experiences with Talk Business as the weekend unfolds.

Editor’s note: The following story is a collaborative effort among Roby Brock (Talk Business), Matt Campbell (Blue Hog Report), Michael Tilley (The City Wire), and Jason Tolbert (The Tolbert Report).

A communications policy adopted by the Arkansas House of Representatives designed to avoid public property being used for commercial gain raises Constitutional questions.

Companies doing business in Arkansas are reminded to pay their annual franchise taxes to Secretary of State Mark Martin’s office by Monday, May 2.  Traditionally, May 1 is the filing date, but the due date falls on a Sunday this year.

There was a variety of banking news reported on Friday afternoon as Arkansas financial concerns reported losses, dividends, new acquisitions and the closing of a recapitalization plan.

The Small Business Administration’s Arkansas District Office named their 2011 Small Business Person and Champions of the Year at a luncheon hosted by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Arkansas and emceed by Talk Business host Roby Brock.

On Monday, Entergy Arkansas announced that it and several other Entergy Corp. subsidiaries would join regional electricity grid operator Midwest ISO, but the local rival, Southwest Power Pool, is making its case.

One of the bigger stories this week in the national trucking industry centered on the surprising poor first quarter earnings report released Monday (April 25) by Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp.

Rising water on the Mississippi River could boost the gambling fortunes of at least one Arkansas gaming venue.

Arkansas News Bureau columnist John Brummett recounts our recent Talk Business-Hendrix College Poll in which we asked where Arkansans get their legislative news.

Stephens Media columnist Steve Brawner takes up the Republican effort to reduce deficit spending and curb entitlement program growth, primarily in Medicare.

The 88th General Assembly officially adjourned at noon today capping off a 93-day session that saw the enactment of new tax cuts, prison reform, Congressional redistricting and two proposals for highway financing advance.

Like many of its peers, P.A.M. Transportation posted a major quarterly loss for a variety of factors plaguing the trucking industry.

Seven of Arkansas’ eight metro areas saw March jobless rate declines compared to February 2011 and March 2010. Pine Bluff saw a decline in the rate compared to February but was up compared to March 2010.

Fed Chief Ben Bernanke’s first press conference offered changes in economic forecasts, but at least three economy watchers say not much new was learned about the economy.

Jo Luck, former CEO of Heifer International, was recently appointed by President Obama to serve on the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Board for International Food and Agricultural Development.

Arkansas’ second largest telecom is preparing to make affordable, high-speed Internet access and the computers to connect to it available in state.

The Little Rock Zoo went all out for Earth Day last week. The zoo’s newest residents – African penguins – helped highlight a push for water conservation as their home at Penguin Pointe recycles and re-filters the water it uses.

Natural gas driller Southwestern Energy, the leading production company in Arkansas’ Fayetteville Shale play, officially opened its $25 million, 120,000 sq. ft. regional office in Conway.

Come August 6th you can take advantage of a sales tax exemption on your back-to-school items, but if you’re an early planner, you’re in luck: the details have already been worked out.