Finance

Home Bancshares 3Q profits fall 66% on Hurricane Irma-related expenses

Home Bancshares announced before Thursday’s opening bell that its Hurricane Irma-impacted earnings fell 66% in the third quarter as the Arkansas bank’s fast-growing South Florida operations accrued $33.4 million in…

Moody’s says Arkansas budget reserves not recession-proof, Gov. Hutchinson cites legislative fix

A new study issued Wednesday (Oct. 18) by Moody Analytics says Arkansas and 14 other states don’t have enough reserves from the state’s general collections to pay for basic government…

U.S. Rep. French Hill talks tax reform, Trump

U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, wants to see a broader tax base as part of federal tax reform, and with few exceptions, he’s open to a review of many…

Bank of the Ozarks 3Q profits top $96 million, record earnings run hits 8 quarters

Bank of the Ozarks reported Wednesday (Oct. 11) that third quarter profits topped $96 million, easily beating year ago results and continuing a two-year streak for record quarterly earnings results,…

Wal-Mart tells analysts the company will remodel 500 stores, buy back $20 billion in shares

Wal-Mart Stores CEO Doug McMillon told the investment community Tuesday (Oct. 10) he wouldn’t want to trade places with anyone else because he likes Wal-Mart’s odds to win in the…

Former Arkansas Speaker of the House named ASU alumni businessman of the year

Centennial Bank Regional President Davy Carter will be named business executive of the year at the Arkansas State University Business Homecoming alumni dinner Thursday night. Carter, who is also an…

Jonesboro sales tax collections dipped in September; still on pace for record year

Sales tax collections in Jonesboro declined in September as compared to the same month in 2016, but overall, Northeast Arkansas’ hub city is still on pace to set an all-time…

Wal-Mart to retire $8.5 billion in debt tender offer

Wal-Mart Stores is making a tender offer to purchase certain outstanding debt securities issued by the retail giant to reduce the company’s interest expense. The $8.5 billion tender offer was…

Higher interest rates may boost business for used car dealers like Car-Mart

The new normal for interest rates might not be the old normal, or what they were before the Great Recession, economist Michael Pakko said. Buy here, pay here used car…

Accountancy board green lights Arkansas CPAs serving medical marijuana businesses

Arkansas accountants might have been given the all clear to provide professional services to medical marijuana businesses in the state, but some of the largest accounting firms in Northwest Arkansas…

Insurance department welcomes 20th company of the year to Arkansas

The Arkansas Insurance Department (AID) has granted permission to sell insurance products in the state to American Inter-Fidelity Exchange of Merrillville, Indiana. The announcement was made Wednesday (Oct. 4). American Inter-Fidelity…

Arvest has largest deposit market share in the state

Fayetteville-based Arvest Bank retained the largest market share of deposits in Arkansas with $8.452 billion as of June 30, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. annual report released Tuesday….

Centennial Bank promotes Kelly Buchanan to director of corporate branch strategies

Centennial Bank parent company Home BancShares Inc. of Conway announced Tuesday (Oct. 3) the promotion of Kelly Buchanan to a new position, director of corporate branch strategies. Buchanan’s responsibilities include…

Arkansas budget coffers still ahead of forecast, September collections tepid

Arkansas’ economy continues to see broad-based growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 even as state revenue collections remained mostly flat, caused mainly by a continued decline in new…

Jonesboro hires a new chief financial officer

Northeast Arkansas’ hub city has a new chief financial officer. Jonesboro Mayor Harold Perrin selected Bill Reznicek on Monday as the city’s next CFO. A certified public accountant, Reznicek has…

Arkansas student default rate continues four-year decline, state moves closer to national average

Arkansas’ contribution to the nation’s massive $1.4 trillion student loan bubble actually got smaller in 2014, moving the state off another “bottom ten” financial ranking of U.S. states with the…

First National Bank renovates first two floors, adds ‘Unexpected’ mural

One of the iconic ladies of Garrison Avenue in downtown Fort Smith is getting some work done – inside and out. The eight-story headquarters of First National Bank of Fort…

Economist hopes for tax reform over tax cuts, also eyeing wage growth

Economist Mervin Jebaraj likes what he sees in the current economy, but has his eye on several metrics and semantics to gauge future economic growth. Jebaraj, interim director of the…

Sen. Cotton co-sponsoring legislation to keep arbitration rules at bay, Boozman supportive

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is putting his support behind a Senate resolution that a progressive Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group says will help big banks and other financial concerns take…

Tyson CEO talks earnings growth, higher revenues and continued hunt for efficiencies

Tyson Foods CEO Tom Hayes said the company’s “time of transformation” led to 450 job cuts at the corporate offices in Springdale, Chicago and Cincinnati. Insiders tell Talk Business &…