Money Talk: LR Air Force Base Packs Economic Punch, Report Says
by June 8, 2015 5:57 am 206 views
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LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE PACKS ECONOMIC PUNCH, REPORT SAYS
The Little Rock Air Force Base (LRAFB) recently released an “Economic Impact Statement” showing that the sprawling military wing in Jacksonville is the fourth-largest employer in the state, and fuels more than $813 million in direct economic growth and job creation for the regional economy.
Home to the C-130 Combat Airlift Wing, the self-contained based in the city limits of Jacksonville supports 8,200 airmen, 1,500 civilians and 57,000 Air force retirees. Opened in 1955 on 6,100 acres of donated land, the base’s annual payroll for military and federal civilian workers totals $420.4 million.
The Air Force wing is also responsible for 3,479 indirect jobs with average annual salaries exceeding $42,000 with a payroll value of $146.1 million. The base will celebrate its 60 years of being in the Little Rock area later this summer.
To view the complete LRAFB economic report, click here.
ARKANSAS SEES JUMP IN AUTO LOAN DELINQUENCIES
Arkansas bucked a national trend with one of the largest year-over-year spikes in the number of consumer auto loan delinquencies for the first quarter, according to TransUnion’s monthly auto loan report. At the same time, the U.S. saw the largest growth in auto loans or leases since the Great Recession, the report said.
“Even as more consumers have access to an auto loan or lease, we’re seeing a continued low level of delinquencies on a year-over-year and quarterly basis,” said Jason Laky, senior vice president and automotive business leader for TransUnion.
Arkansas loan delinquencies, or the ratio of borrowers 60 days or more delinquent on their auto loans, rose 6.8% in the first quarter from 1.14% in fiscal 2014 to 1.22% in 2015. South Dakota had the largest percentage of bad auto loans among consumers at 14.8%, up from 0.63% a year ago to 0.73% in fiscal 2015.
Still, more than 71 million consumers had an auto loan in Q1 2015, an increase of 1.2 million from the same period a year ago. Nationally, auto delinquency rates remained steady at 0.99%, unchanged from Q1 2014. On a quarterly basis, the delinquency rate dropped from 1.16% in Q4 2014, a decline of 14.6%.
To see the national auto loan report from Transunion, the nation’s third-largest credit bureau, click here.
FINRA BEGINS ‘BROKER CHECK’ AD CAMPAIGN
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has launched a national ad campaign promoting its free online tool that allows investors to access information about every broker’s employment history, certifications and licenses, as well as regulatory actions, violations or complaints made against them.
The 15-second spots will run for five weeks on cable channels, while a print ad began running in The Wall Street Journal last week. The campaign will run digitally on relevant sites that include Bloomberg, CNBC, Fortune, Reuters, TubeMogul, the Undertone Network and WSJ, and search engines Google, Bing/Yahoo and YouTube.
The ads, created by Ogilvy & Mather, feature humorous examples of people taking action without conducting any background research. Viewers are urged investors to use FINRA’s Broker Check and not to make the same type of leap-before-you-look mistakes when choosing a financial broker.
FINRA is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States It also administers the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and firms. To learn more, visit www.finra.org.
ARVEST SURVEY: ARKANSAS CONSUMERS FEELING GOOD ABOUT FINANCIAL SITUATION
Many Arkansans are looking forward to purchasing a “big ticket” household item during the second half of 2015 as many have seen their personal financial situation improve this year, according to the spring edition of the 2015 Arvest Consumer Sentiment Survey released Tuesday (June 2). Read more from the latest study at this link.