Arkansas Business Daily Report

Arkansas Business Daily Reporthttp://www.arkansasbusiness.com/news.aspStories from Arkansasbusiness.com's popular daily e-newsletter and Today's Top Stories section. Includes the latest breaking business news.Copyright 2012 Arkansas Business Limited Partnership. All rights reserved.$1M Gift Honors Walton Legacy at UAhttp://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131506.54928.143635http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131506.54928.143635Wal-Mart and the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation have donated $1 million to renovate and expand the Walton College of Business display honoring Sam Walton. FAYETTEVILLE --- Wal-Mart and the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation have donated $500,000 each to renovate and expand the Walton College of Business display honoring Sam Walton in the Business Administration building at the University of Arkansas. "These generous gifts will allow the University of Arkansas and the Walton College to create a world class tribute to its namesake, Mr. Sam Walton, who had a transformational impact on the business world, and our university," said University of Arkansas Chancellor G. David Gearhart in a news release. "We are deeply grateful for these very significant gifts, and I know our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends will enjoy learning more about his extraordinary legacy." According to the release, the current exhibit is housed in a single display case in a secluded, low-traffic area of the building, and the $1 million gift will "highlight the Walton memorabilia over three levels of the building's central stairway and atrium space and will include interactive displays, modern furnishings and high-quality lighting. The new space will be viewed by thousands of people each year." "We are so pleased that this recognition of Sam Walton will be in the midst of the business leaders of tomorrow," said Kaneaster Hodges, president of the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. "We hope that it is an inspiration for all."The Walton College of Business is ranked in the top 50 among public and private undergraduate business schools in the nation and in the top 30 among public business colleges, according to U.S. News and World Report. Mon, 21 May 2012 09:17:19 CSTThis Week in Arkansas Business: State's 75 Largest Private Companieshttp://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131505.54928.143634http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131505.54928.143634This week, Arkansas Business presents its annual look at the state's 75 largest private companies, ranked by revenue. Truman Arnold Cos. returned to the top of Arkansas Business' annual list of the state's largest private companies last year and remains there with 2011 annual revenue that is more than double the next-highest confirmed figure on the list.The list of the state's 75 largest firms is only part of this week's in-depth coverage of private companies in Arkansas. Also this week:The <a href="http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aID=131256">full list and an overview of the 75 largest private companies</a>, ranked by revenue.Publisher <a href="http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aID=131267">Jeff Hankins' commentary on the annual list</a>, his favorite recurring feature in Arkansas Business, and four points about the list that he's noted for 19 years.In-depth profiles of some of the companies on the list, <a href="http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aID=131281">grouped by industry and Arkansas region</a>. And there's much more from <a href="http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/weekly_ab.asp">this week's 52-page edition of Arkansas Business here</a>. Mon, 21 May 2012 09:07:44 CSTWilliam Dillard II Says Dillard's is in Good Shapehttp://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131504.54928.143633http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131504.54928.143633At a five-minute shareholder meeting on Saturday, William Dillard II, the CEO of Dillard's Inc. of Little Rock, says the retail chain is in "good shape."William Dillard II, the CEO of Dillard's Inc. of Little Rock, said Saturday that the retail chain was in "good shape."In the approximately five-minute annual shareholder meeting held at Dillard's headquarters in Little Rock, Dillard hit some of the high points of the company's fiscal year that ended Jan. 28. The highlights include a 4 percent same-store sales increase, which is considered a key indicator of a retailer's health, and the repurchase of $491 million worth of its stock. Dillard's also had an income of $463.9 million in its fiscal year that ended in January, or $8.52 per share, which was company's highest earning per share in its history. Dillard also touted the company's stock price (NYSE: %%DDS%%), which closed at $56 on May 13, 2011, climbed and fell during the year and closed at $65.21 on Friday. It had hit $70.43 on May 11.  He also said the first quarter in 2012 showed the company was off to good start to the fiscal year. It posted first-quarter income of $95 million, up about 24 percent from about $77 million during the same quarter last year.Dillard's also had a 5 percent increase in same-store sales during the quarter."We were pleased with the first quarter," Dillard said.It bought back $27.5 million shares in the first quarter."We have done a good job in the last 18 months," Dillard said to the audience, which included most of the company's directors, who were attending a board meeting after the annual meeting. In other action, shareholders approved re-electing Dillard's four board members and approved the accounting firm KPMG LLP for fiscal 2012.The board, though, is controlled by the Dillard family members under a dual-class stock arrangement. Class A stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, but holders of the Class B shares, owned almost exclusively by Dillard and his family members, have the right to choose eight of the 12 corporate directors.As of April 28, Dillard's operated 287 Dillard's locations and 17 clearance centers spanning 29 states. Sat, 19 May 2012 10:47:31 CSTUPDATE: United Bank of Springdale Dinged by Regulatorshttp://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131481.54928.143610http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131481.54928.143610A 16-page consent order signed last month was made public on Friday.United Bank of Springdale agreed to a cease-and-desist order issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last month, a replacement for <a href="article.aspx?aID=124543">a 2010 order</a> issued by its former regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision. <a href="http://www.occ.gov/static/enforcement-actions/ea2012-091.pdf">The 16-page order</a> includes eight areas for improvement, down from 27 articles in the earlier order. "The bank's made greatgrogress in the last 15 months," United's new president, Nathan Gairhan, told ArkansasBusiness.com on Friday. It is already in compliance with five of the eight articles in the current order, he said. United Bank had assets of $165 million as of March 31, and net income in the first quarter of $452,000. It earned $751,000 last year after losing $5.53 million in 2010. Gairhan, formerly the northwest Arkansas regional president for First Western Bank at Rogers, joined United as president on April 19. Pending regulator approval, he will also succeed John Scott as CEO. <a href="article.aspx?aID=130534"></a><a href="article.aspx?aID=130534">Scott announced in March</a> that he will be leaving United Bank later this year. Fri, 18 May 2012 11:30:09 CSTFacebook Stock Cool in Public Debut http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131473.54928.143602http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131473.54928.143602Shares of Facebook rose as high as $42 per share on the day of its initial public offering, but quickly slumped as investors sought to put a dollar value on the company that turned online social networking into a global cultural phenomenon.NEW YORK - Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: %%FB%%) rose as high as $42 per share on the day of its initial public offering, but quickly slumped as investors sought to put a dollar value on the company that turned online social networking into a global cultural phenomenon.Earlier, the company's 28-year-old CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, smiled as he rang the opening bell from Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. Surrounded by cheering Facebook employees and wearing his signature hoodie, the 28-year-old pushed the button that signals the opening of the stock market in New York. The morning's events followed an all-night "hackathon" at the company, where engineers stayed up coding software and conjuring up new ideas for Facebook and its 900 million users.On Thursday, Facebook and the investment bankers arranging the IPO settled on a price of $38 per share. The company and its early investors raised $16 billion in the offering, which valued Facebook at $104 billion. That makes Facebook the most valuable U.S. company to ever go public.Now, the stock market will assign a dollar value to Facebook that will rise and fall with investor whims. It will be subject to broad economic forces and held accountable for profit it earns -or loses- from one quarter to the next.But Facebook is one a rare companies whose IPO transcends Wall Street's money lust. It is a cultural touchstone for the way technology reshapes our lives. Since its start as a scrappy network for college students, Facebook has come to define social networking by getting people around the world to share everything from photos of their pets to their deepest thoughts.It has done so while becoming one of the few profitable Internet companies to go public recently. It had net income of $205 million in the first three months of 2012, on revenue of $1.06 billion. In all of 2011, it earned $1 billion, up from $606 million a year earlier. That's a far cry from 2007, when it posted a net loss of $138 million and revenue of $153 million. The company makes most of its money from advertising. It also takes a cut from the money people spend on virtual items in Facebook games such as "FarmVille."Facebook's public debut marks a new milestone in the history of the Internet. In 1995, Netscape Communications' IPO gave people their first chance to invest in a company whose graphical Web browser made the Internet more engaging and easier to navigate. Its hotly anticipated IPO lit the fuse that ignited the dot-com boom. That explosion of entrepreneurial activity and investment culminated five years later in a devastating bust that obliterated the notion that the Internet had hatched a "new economy".It took Google Inc.'s IPO in 2004 to prove that an Internet company with a disruptive idea could be profitable. In the process, the Internet search leader is forcing other industries to adapt to a new order where people have come to expect to be able to find just about anything they want by entering a few words into a box on any device with an Internet connection.Facebook's IPO heralds a new phase of the Internet's evolution. This social era makes connections among people as important as Google's massive index of Web links. Still, the IPO will raise new pressures for Facebook to generate more revenue, perhaps by digging further into the trove of revealing information that people share on the network to sell even more targeted ads.Facebook's IPO almost certainly will enrich other up-and-coming entrepreneurs as Zuckerberg uses the company's cash and stock to buy other startups in an effort to being in other talented engineers and promising technology. That's what has been doing for years. Since it went public in 2004, Google has spent $10.2 billion buying nearly 200 other companies. Those figures don't include Google's still-pending $12.5 billion acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., which is still awaiting regulatory approval in China.Zuckerberg's biggest deal so far came when he agreed to buy Instagram, a maker of a popular mobile app for photos, for $1 billion. Because most of the deal is being paid for in stock, Instagram is already getting richer. Based on Facebook's IPO price of $38 per share, Instagram is in line to receive nearly $1.2 billion.Though Zuckerberg rang the Nasdaq opening bell from California, people outside the stock market in Times Square snapped photos of a big blue Facebook sign that lit up the building. Some of them used their smart phones to check in to the Nasdaq on Facebook. Frederick Nolde, who was visiting from Richmond, Va., said he bought 100 shares through the online brokerage eTrade.He thinks the company is worth $100 billion. "I think Google is a good comparison and it's worth $200 to 300 billion. The real question is how they do in mobile. If they can figure that out they'll do well."(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, broadcast or distributed.) Fri, 18 May 2012 11:26:28 CSTBank of the Ozarks Named Top Performer by Banking Journalhttp://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131469.54928.143598http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131469.54928.143598Bank of the Ozarks was named the top performing bank among mid-sized publicly held lenders in the May 12 issue of ABA Banking Journal.Bank of the Ozarks was named the top performing bank among mid-sized publicly held lenders in the May 12 issue of ABA Banking Journal. The Little Rock bank ranked No. 1 for its 2011 performance among 253 public banks, thrifts and holding companies with total assets of between $1 billion and $10 billion."This honor is attributed to our 1,100 employees who conduct business with the highest level of integrity and the desire to not just be good or great, but excellent in everything they do," said George Gleason, chairman of the board and CEO. Bank of the Ozarks also was ranked No. 1 among its peers by the publication in 2010 and last month was recognized as the top performing regional bank in the nation by SNL Financial LC of Charlottesville, Va. The $3.8 billion-asset lender has reported record annual earnings for 11 consecutive years and 14 out of 15 years since going public in 1997.The company operates in 113 offices in Arkansas, Texas, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Alabama. Fri, 18 May 2012 11:01:17 CSTArkansas Unemployment Rate Drops to 7.2 Percenthttp://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131464.54928.143593http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131464.54928.143593Arkansas' unemployment rate declined two-tenths of a percentage point from 7.4 percent in March to 7.2 percent in April, according to a report Friday from the Department of Workforce Services.Arkansas' unemployment rate declined two-tenths of a percentage point from 7.4 percent in March to 7.2 percent in April, according to a report Friday from the Department of Workforce Services. "The number of employed Arkansans increased for the ninth straight month," DWS Communications Director Kimberly Friedman said in a news release. "Higher employment in April contributed to the decrease in the unemployment rate. Compared to a year ago, there are 30,700 more employed Arkansans"  The report said Arkansas' civilian labor force increased by 500, to 1.39 million. The U.S. jobless rate decreased one-tenth of a percentage point from 8.2 percent in March to 8.1 percent in April. Since March, nonfarm payroll jobs in the state have increased 6,100 to 1,171,200. Eight major industry sectors posted gains, one sector declined and two remained stable. <ul> <li>Leisure and hospitality added the most jobs with 3,700. Hiring was mostly seasonal with food service adding 2,100.</li> <li>Educational and health service reported an addition of 1,100 jobs. Health care and social assistance grew by 800, due to hiring in nursing-residential care facilities and at hospitals.</li> <li>Trade, transportation and utilities were up by 600. Seasonal gains in retail and wholesale trace offset losses incurred in transportation-warehouse-utilities.</li> </ul> There are still 5,400 fewer nonfarm payroll jobs in Arkansas than there were in April 2011, with six major industry sectors reporting declines, offsetting growth in four other industries: <ul> <li>Jobs in professional and business services dropped 5,500 with 3,500 losses in administrative and support service.</li> <li>Manufacturing saw 5,000 jobs lost, related to continued layoffs and closures.</li> <li>Trade, transportation and utilities numbers decreased by 2,500. </li> <li>Cuts made at general merchendise stores led to a loss of 2,000 in retail.</li> <li>Leisure and hospitality added 4,800 jobs, with the growth occuring in accommodation and food services.</li> <li>Government jobs increased by 3,700 with local government adding 4,800, making up for 1,100 jobs lost on the federal level.</li> <li>Educational and health service rose 3,700, mostly in health care and social assistance.</li></ul> Fri, 18 May 2012 10:07:00 CSTTHVideo: Energy Firms Lease Land, Begin Brown Dense Explorationhttp://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131463.54928.143592http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131463.54928.143592As energy companies ramp up oil exploration in the Brown Dense formation in south Arkansas, Today's THV talks to residents who have leased mineral rights and local leaders who are measuring the economic effects.As energy companies ramp up oil exploration in the Brown Dense formation in south Arkansas, Arkansas Business news partner Today's THV talks to residents who have leased mineral rights and local leaders who are measuring the economic effects. Southwestern Energy and Cabot Oil and Gas are among companies hoping to exploit the formation. <a href="http://www.swn.com/investors/Press_Releases/2012/02.27.12.pdf" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.swn.com/investors/Press_Releases/2012/02.27.12.pdf" target="_blank">A February report</a> from Southwestern Energy's well in Columbia County notes a high of 103 barrels of oil over a 24-hour period for a test well.<a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=116492&p=irol-newsArticleright&ID=1687535&highlight=" target="_blank"> Cabot Oil and Gas </a>reported in April a peak production rate of 206 barrels per day at a Union County test site, according to Today's THV. Click below to watch Today's THV reporter's Max Seigle's full report:<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" width="425" height="361"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1"></param><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"></param><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=1644866143001&playerID=34757275001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAB_xxUcE~,TkK9U83iSSqh2YhmbNhifc_APRXJTk_c&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true"></param><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com"></param><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=1644866143001&playerID=34757275001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAB_xxUcE~,TkK9U83iSSqh2YhmbNhifc_APRXJTk_c&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="361" width="425"></embed></object>Fri, 18 May 2012 07:47:05 CSTIn Filing, Wal-Mart Says Investigation Could Expandhttp://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131462.54928.143591http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131462.54928.143591Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville notes in an 8K filing that an investigation into its business practices in Mexico could expand to other areas of the company.Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville noted in an 8K filing with regulators on Thursday that an investigation into its business practices in Mexico could expand to other areas of the company. In <a href="http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104169/000119312512237308/d354306d8k.htm" target="_blank">the filing</a>, the retailer said its board of directors' audit committee is investigating "alleged violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the "FCPA") and other alleged crimes or misconduct in connection with foreign subsidiaries including Wal-Mart de México ..." The filing formally discloses to shareholders the investigations launched by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities & Exchange Commission into its business practices in light of an alleged bribery scheme by its Mexico operation. The New York Times reported the allegations in April. It said high-level Wal-Mart executives had been aware of the alleged bribery and conducted an internal investigation, but ultimately shut down the investigation. The retailer, which also reported Thursday <a href="article.aspx?aID=131230">a 10 percent increase in first-quarter earnings</a>, has since said it is conducting its own investigation into the matter. The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, led by Democrats Henry Waxman of California and Elijah Cummings of Maryland, has also launched a probe. In its regulatory filing, Wal-Mart said it is cooperating with the investigations and warned that it "could be exposed to a variety of negative consequences as a result of the matters ..." Some shareholders have already filed lawsuits against the company and its executives. And on Thursday, Waxman and Cummings accused the retailer of stonewalling in their investigation, which seeks "hundreds" of internal documents and testimony by key executives. Wal-Mart's Full 8K Statement on Investigation <blockquote> The Audit Committee of the Company's Board of Directors (the "Audit Committee"), which is composed solely of independent directors, is conducting an internal investigation into, among other things, alleged violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the "FCPA") and other alleged crimes or misconduct in connection with foreign subsidiaries including Wal-Mart de México, S.A.B. de C.V. ("Walmex") and whether prior allegations of such violations and/or misconduct were appropriately handled by the Company. The Audit Committee and the Company have engaged outside counsel from a number of law firms and other advisors who are assisting in the on-going investigation of these matters. The Company is also conducting a voluntary global review of its policies, practices and internal controls for FCPA compliance. The Company is engaged in strengthening its global anti-corruption compliance programs through appropriate remedial anti-corruption measures. In November 2011, the Company voluntarily disclosed that investigative activity to the U.S. Department of Justice (the "DOJ") and the SEC. The Company has been informed by the DOJ and the SEC that it is also the subject of their respective investigations into possible violations of the FCPA. The Company is cooperating with the investigations by the DOJ and the SEC. A number of federal and local government agencies in Mexico have also recently initiated investigations of these matters. Walmex is cooperating with the Mexican governmental agencies conducting these investigations. Furthermore, lawsuits relating to the matters under investigation have recently been filed by several of the Company's shareholders against it, its current directors, certain of its former directors, certain of its current and former officers and certain of Walmex's current and former officers. The Company could be exposed to a variety of negative consequences as a result of the matters noted above. There could be one or more enforcement actions in respect of the matters that are the subject of some or all of the ongoing government investigations, and such actions, if brought, may result in judgments, settlements, fines, penalties, injunctions, cease and desist orders or other relief, criminal convictions and/or penalties. The shareholder lawsuits may result in judgments against the Company and its current and former directors and officers named in those proceedings. The Company cannot predict accurately at this time the outcome or impact of the government investigations, the shareholder lawsuits, or its own internal investigation and review. In addition, the Company expects to incur costs in responding to requests for information or subpoenas seeking documents, testimony and other information in connection with the government investigations, in defending the shareholder lawsuits, and in conducting its internal investigation and review, and it cannot predict at this time the ultimate amount of all such costs. These matters may require the involvement of certain members of the Company's senior management that could impinge on the time they have available to devote to other matters relating to the business. The Company may also see ongoing media and governmental interest in these matters that could impact the perception among certain audiences of its role as a corporate citizen. The Company is in the early stages of assessing and responding to the governmental investigations, the shareholder lawsuits, and its internal investigation and review are on-going. Although the Company does not presently believe that these matters will have a material adverse effect on its business, given the inherent uncertainties in such situations, the Company can provide no assurance that these matters will not be material to its business in the future. </blockquote> Fri, 18 May 2012 07:24:58 CSTState Dems: Obama Rival John Wolfe Can't Win Arkansas Delegates http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131459.54928.143588http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131459.54928.143588The Arkansas Democratic Party says a lawyer running against President Barack Obama won't be awarded any delegates, no matter how he fares in Tuesday's presidential primary. LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Democratic Party says a lawyer running against President Barack Obama won't be awarded any delegates, no matter how he fares in Tuesday's presidential primary.Party spokeswoman Candace Martin told The Associated Press on Thursday that John Wolfe hasn't complied with Arkansas' delegate selection rules and hasn't turned in two mandatory documents. Martin said the national party has told the Arkansas Democratic Party that delegates Wolfe might claim won't be recognized at the national convention.Wolfe is a lawyer from Chattanooga, Tenn. He says a move to "disenfranchise" voters would reflect poorly on the Democratic Party.Wolfe could draw a significant amount of the vote in Arkansas, where polls have shown the president is deeply unpopular. Only Wolfe and Obama are on Tuesday's Democratic presidential primary ballot.(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, broadcast or distributed.) Thu, 17 May 2012 16:57:09 CST