Business

Cosse Replaces Wood As CEO Of Murphy Oil

El Dorado-based Murphy Oil CEO David Wood stepped down today (June 20) and was replaced by board member Steve Cosse, a former EVP and general counsel to the company.

Airport numbers up in Arkansas

Enplanements at Arkansas’ three largest commercial airports are trending higher in 2012, mirroring a federal report issued Wednesday (June 20) showing a 3.4% gain during the first quarter in total…

Agribusiness Weekly Update: Packer margins improve

Beef U.S. beef packer margins averaged nearly $21 per head last week, but had risen to $47 by Wednesday (June 20) on lower cattle prices, according to Hedgers Edge. June…

Fed extends Operation Twist, cuts growth outlook

BLOOMBERG — The Federal Reserve will expand its program to replace short-term bonds with longer-term debt by $267 billion through the end of 2012 as policy makers lowered their outlook…

ARK Challenge receives 83 applicants

The first ARK Challenge garnered 83 applicants seeking one of 15 positions in a 14-week entrepreneurial boot camp, according to a statement from the Northwest Arkansas Council. “We’re seeing some…

America’s Car-Mart On The Fast Track For Growth

There’s nothing sexy about selling dependable cars to hardworking people in small- to medium-size towns across the South. But one Bentonville-based company is raking in record profits by doing just that.

Entrepreneurship support expands in Arkansas

Entrepreneurship is alive and well in Arkansas, but it is requiring a more dynamic entrepreneurial mentality and environment to develop the next generation of start-ups. From traditional businesses in new…

America’s Car-Mart on the fast track

Getting Started Is Getting Easier For Entrepreneurs In Arkansas

Entrepreneurship is alive and well in Arkansas, but it is requiring a more dynamic entrepreneurial mentality and environment to develop the next generation of start-ups.

Freight Industry Struggling With ‘Ups And Downs’

St. Louis-based Cass Information Systems recently reported that the number of freight shipments has risen at a very steady pace in 2012, but is still well below the most recent high point in September 2011.

Donations to arts rose 4% to $13 billion in 2011

BLOOMBERG — Donations to the arts in the U.S. rose about 4.1% in 2011, to $13.1 billion, according to a report released June 18 by the Giving USA Foundation. Such…

Bell to resign as Arkansas Ag Secretary

Richard “Dick” Bell, Arkansas’ Secretary of Agriculture, will leave his post on June 30. In a letter to Gov. Mike Beebe, Bell says he is leaving because he has accomplished…

U.S. builders begin work on more single-family homes

BLOOMBERG — Builders broke ground on more single-family houses for a third consecutive month in May and rising construction permits pointed to further gains, showing the residential real-estate market is…

Freight industry struggling with ‘ups and downs’

A sentence from the Cass Freight Index well summarizes a collection of reports that track economic health through trucking industry activity: “Overall, still positive growth, but many ups and downs.”…

Bell Leaving Agriculture Post June 30

Richard “Dick” Bell, Arkansas’s Secretary of Agriculture, will leave his post on June 30. In a letter to Governor Beebe, Bell says he is leaving because he has accomplished the work he set out to do when appointed seven years ago, and due to health reasons.

Nine Riceland facilities temporarily close

Tonnage up almost 11% on the Arkansas River through May

Fort Smith Metro News Briefs: USA Truck military support, Baptist Health to hold ‘MASH’ events

SGS opens Bentonville product testing lab