Business

Resin maker to bring 121 jobs to Crossett

A company based in Ireland that produces resins for printing ink announced Monday (Nov. 8) it will build a new plant in Crossett, Ark., resulting in 121 new jobs for…

Gains continue in regional tourism economy

Area jobless figures may point to a haphazard economic recovery, but Fort Smith and Van Buren hospitality collections suggest stronger signs of life in the regional economy. Van Buren hospitality…

Fort Smith, Municipal League end workers’ comp conflict

There appears to be a resolution over what was a brewing squabble among the cities of Fort Smith and Little Rock and the Arkansas Municipal League. In early October, the…

Lobbyists: Arkansas legislators to face tight budget (Updated)

Dennis Jungmeyer summarized the obvious when asked what he thought about the top issue in the upcoming Arkansas General Assembly. “It will all come back to money,” Jungmeyer, president of…

Unemployment office largest Fort Smith area employer?

The largest employer in the Fort Smith metro area between September 2008 and September 2010 was probably the unemployment compensation system of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services. It was…

Regional bankruptcies and incorporations

Following are recent bankruptcy and incorporation filings from Crawford, Franklin, Logan and Sebastian counties. The information is provided by The Daily Record. a Little Rock-based news and legal information publisher….

Convention center, new boss top issues for incoming city directors

When George Catsavis, Philip Merry Jr., and Pam Weber are sworn in as the three new members of the seven-member Fort Smith board of directors, they’ll face two major issues…

Ethanol production, retail ops move Murphy Oil profits higher

Murphy Oil Corp.’s profits rose 7.4 percent in the third quarter primarily due to better earnings from U.S. retail marketing and ethanol production operations, the El Dorado oil giant reported…

Fort Smith jobless rate dips in September

Jobless figures, released Wednesday (Nov. 3) by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, show that the Pine Bluff area was the only one of eight Arkansas metro areas that saw…

Arkansas Best posts another quarterly income loss

Quarterly earnings for Arkansas Best Corp. continue to be in the red, but a market watcher expects the “positive earnings momentum” to continue for the financially beleaguered transportation holding company….

Fort Smith board rejects job cut proposal

A proposal by Fort Smith City Administrator Dennis Kelly to cut at least 20 jobs to cover the convention center cost was the proverbial lead balloon at Tuesday’s (Nov. 2)…

State tax receipts show gains in consumer, business spending

A resurgence in consumer and business spending has helped boost Arkansas tax collections 7% above the same fiscal period in 2009. The Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration reported Tuesday…

Lawsuit-induced relief uncertain for Arkansas Best (Updated)

The markets and at least one analyst are not convinced a lawsuit against the Teamsters will provide near- or long-term relief for Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp. Updated info: However,…

National GDP, wage reports show flat economy

Recent GDP numbers and personal income reports provide more proof of an economy that is flat or limping toward recovery. According to the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, real GDP…

New business owners must be careful with relationships

Stockman says blurring the line between employee and friend may result in problems down the line.

ABF Freight sues Teamsters (Updated)

The management at Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp. has decided to seek up to $750 million in financial damages from alleged violations of a National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA) by…

Building permit values down 23% in Fort Smith

Comparative declines in building activity during October in Fort Smith and Van Buren pushed regional permit values down almost 3%. The value of building permits issued during October in Fort…

Rheem layoffs could be short-lived

The recent layoff announcement at Rheem’s Fort Smith manufacturing operation should be short-lived if history is a good precedent — and barring a sudden and unexpected retraction of the national…

Regional bankruptcies and incorporations

OG&E earnings up 18.9% in Q3

Oklahoma City-based OGE Energy Corp. posted third-quarter net income of $163.5 million, up 18.9% over the 2009 period, and well above analyst expectations. The per share earnings for the third…