Business

2011 Arkansas Business Hall of Fame inductees named

The Arkansas Business Hall of Fame announced four business leaders who will be inducted into the prestigious ring of honor in February 2011. The inductees are: • L. Dickson Flake,…

NBER: U.S. recession ended June 2009

On Monday (Sept. 20), the national group responsible for officially marking the beginning and end of economic depressions and recessions said June 2009 technically marked the end of a recession…

State personal income up 0.94% in 2Q 2010

Arkansas’ personal income grew an estimated 0.94% in the second quarter of 2010, lower than the national average of 1%, according to a U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report released…

Refinancing not feasible for most of Fort Smith’s bonds

Dennis Hunt and his employer would love nothing more than to refinance the roughly $280 million in outstanding bonds held by the city of Fort Smith. So far in 2010,…

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….

FCRA preps for groundbreakings, business relocations

story by Marla Cantrell [email protected] October will be a big month for industry at Chaffee Crossing. At the monthly meeting of the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority on Thursday (Sept. 16)…

Fort Smith area foreclosure actions jump in August

Foreclosure activity in the Fort Smith area spiked higher in August, going against the trend seen in Arkansas and around the country. A report released by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac shows…

Arkansas soybean farmers help cushion Ford Motor Co.

Arkansas travelers and motorists nationwide could soon feel the comfort of state-produced “soy foam” on their backsides, heads and shoulders. According to the Arkansas Soybean Board, Ford Motor Co. recently…

Arkansas Best gains require union wage cuts, pension reform

The good news is that the most recent analyst report says Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp. may have hit bottom and could see positive earnings in fiscal 2011. But even…

Energy Report: Lower natural gas prices past shadow over Fayetteville Shale

Recent sideways and downward pressure on the price of natural gas is causing some consternation in the natural gas industry, including companies that operate in the Fayetteville Shale. In late…

AOG area unlikely to suffer neighborhood-destroying gas explosion

The huge natural gas line explosion that destroyed part of a neighborhood near San Francisco is not likely to happen in the Fort Smith area. On Sept. 9, a 30-inch…

Arkansas Venture Forum begins Wednesday

The Arkansas Venture Forum will kick-off Wednesday morning (Sept. 15) at Little Rock’s Doubletree Hotel with a panel discussion on ways for homegrown entrepreneurs to land much-needed venture capital. During…

Another 2nd shift unlikely at Whirlpool

Barring a return of production from Mexico, it appears unlikely Whirlpool officials will boost employment at its Fort Smith manufacturing plant. Sources tell The City Wire that Whirlpool Division Vice…

Business success requires a focus on customer service

Stockman says you and your employees must prepare to handle good and bad customers.

FDIC state profile shows mixed economic health

A collection of second quarter 2010 banking and other economic data released Monday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) show a state economy in neutral or barely moving forward….

Fort Smith sanitation revenue up in first half of 2010

A 2010 payment for a 2009 project helped boost overall revenue by almost 6% for the Fort Smith Department of Sanitation during the first half of 2010. Total revenue for…

Regional bankruptcies and incorporations

July home sales down 36.5% in Fort Smith area

July delivered proof that home sales in Arkansas would fall following the expiration of a federal tax credit for homebuyers. The number of new and existing homes sold during July…

Arkansas, regional economy grows modestly

Economic activity in the seven-state region that includes Arkansas expanded moderately as the manufacturing and service sectors showed incremental growth, according to the Federal Reserve Bank’s quarterly Beige Book report….

Fort Smith airport traffic up 17.5% in August; up 4.4% year-to-date

If the level of airline travel is indeed an indicator of economic health, then August brought good news for the Fort Smith regional economy. August saw 7,051 enplanements in Fort…