Business

PPP: What you should know

In less than two weeks, small-business owners claimed all $349 billion allocated to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP officially opened on April 3 and by April 16, the…

Walmart tests 2-hour ‘Express Delivery’

Walmart continues to push the envelope on delivery as more consumers are looking for shopping convenience. The retail giant is piloting a new “Express Delivery” service that delivers more items…

The Supply Side: Beer, alcohol sales rise as stay-at-home orders persist

Alcoholic beverage sales shot up in March as stay-at-home orders were issued, and many bars and restaurants had to close for dine-in service to enforce social distancing measures. That sent…

Alabama AG sues Tyson Foods over 2019 spill

Tyson Foods was sued on Wednesday (April 29) by the Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on behalf of the state’s environmental and conservation resources. The civil suit was filed in…

HBCUs and colleges serving low-income students receive COVID grants

Arkansas’ Congressional Delegation on Friday (May 1) announced that $14.573 million in an additional round of coronavirus relief funding for Arkansas’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and institutions serving…

$85 million more sought for Ready for Business grants; barbershops, hair salons can reopen May 6

A steering committee on Friday (May 1) approved an additional $85 million in funding for businesses preparing to reopen, bringing the fund total to $100 million. The additional money is…

Manufacturing sector, overall economy contracted in April; PMI at 41.5%

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) decreased 7.6 percentage points to 41.5% in April, from March, as the manufacturing sector contracted for the second consecutive month and the overall economy contracted…

Delta Regional Authority makes $29 million available for rural workforce needs

The Delta Regional Authority (DRA), in partnership with the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the U.S Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA), has announced the availability of approximately…

Entergy Arkansas receives PSC approval for largest solar project in state

The Arkansas Public Service Commission earlier this week approved a new utility-scale solar project that will provide Entergy Arkansas customers with 100 megawatts of solar power and 10 megawatts of…

J.B. Hunt creates digital feature to improve driver, customer safety during deliveries

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. looks to make safer the delivery of shipments amid the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic as federal and state transportation agencies partner to distribute 1 million masks…

Simmons Bank announces golf sponsorship of 4 Korn Ferry Tour players

Pine Bluff-based Simmons Bank announced Friday (May 1) it has signed multiyear sponsorship agreements with Korn Ferry Tour professional golfers Will Zalatoris, Braden Thornberry, Kevin Dougherty and Dawson Armstrong. Financial…

Meat market watchers note production, financial issues with COVID-19 outbreak

Derrell Peel, livestock marketing analyst at Oklahoma State University, has said a recent emergency order from President Donald Trump mandating meat processing plants remain open doesn’t change much for the…

Reactions vary regarding executive order for meat plants to remain open

The executive order handed down this week from President Donald Trump known as the National Emergency Production Act as amended to cover the food supply chain ordered meatpackers and processors…

Ready for Business grant program halted after miscue; gyms and fitness centers may reopen May 4

A $15 million program funded with federal dollars designed to help small businesses in Arkansas reopen has been temporarily halted to update the application and gain legislative approval, Gov. Asa…

Arkansas Extension Homemakers Council hopes to provide 1 million meals to address food insecurity

A statewide volunteer organization that ran soup kitchens during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic is trying to feed people across the state in response to COVID-19. The Arkansas Extension Homemakers…

All Arkansas metro areas see increases in the number of unemployed in March

All metro areas in or connected to Arkansas posted jobless rate increases in March, with year-over-year increases in the number of unemployed ranging between 44% in Jonesboro to 4.8% in…

Numbers indicate 8 states now at 25% unemployment

A report Thursday (April 30) from Bentonville think tank Heartland Forward shows eight states have seen more than a quarter of their workforce file for unemployment insurance (UI) since March…

Hiring perspectives from the CPG industry

As recruiters in the consumer goods industry, my colleagues and I have the opportunity to speak with professionals who manage sales, analytics and supply chains for the leading companies providing…

Alliance-recruited researchers doing COVID-19 work in Arkansas

Dr. Morten Jensen, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, came to the University of Arkansas in 2015 with help from a $500,000 grant from the Arkansas Research Alliance. Now he’s…

Blue & You Foundation awards another round of rapid-response COVID-19 relief grants

The Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas has awarded nine additional grants in its Rapid-Response COVID-19 Relief program, which will provide up to $1.7 million in grants to…