NEWS IN BRIEF

— UAFS to host forum on economic outlook

The Fort Smith Regional Economic Outlook Forum will be held Dec. 12 at the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

The forum will coincide with the release of the thirdquarter Fort Smith Regional Outlook Report, Kermit Kuehn, director of the Center for Business Research and Economic Development at the university, said in a release.

Also, Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, will review information on the national, state and regional economies, as well as highlights from the third-quarter report.

Tim Allen, chief operating officer of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, also will present a regional economic development summary.

The event and the regional outlook report are sponsored by Arvest Bank.

The luncheon will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Reynolds Room of the campus center. Tickets are $15 and the registration deadline is Dec. 10.

To register, call the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce at (479) 783-3111 or send an e-mail to whitney@fortsmithchamber.

com.

  • John MagsamMalls to open doors Thursday at midnight

Park Plaza mall in Little Rock will open at midnight for shoppers on Thanksgiving Day, mall officials said Thursday.

More than 40 stores including Bath and Body Works, Eddie Bauer, and Nine West, will be open, according to a news release.

Stores at Park Plaza that do not open at midnight will open by 7 a.m. on Oct. 23, except for Dillard’s, which will open at 8 a.m.

McCain Mall in North Little Rock will also open at midnight on Thanksgiving, according to the mall’s website. Nationwide, Best Buy stores and Old Navy will also open at midnight on Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving Day, Wal-Mart stores will start sale specials at 8 p.m., and Target Inc. stores will do so at 9 p.m.

  • Jessica SeamanArkansas Index sheds 1.80, closes at 235.88

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 1.80 to 235.88 Thursday.

Nine stocks declined and seven advanced.

America’s Car-Mart gained 1.3 percent in double its average volume.

Arkansas Best fell 5.5 percent in heavy trading after hitting a 52-week low of $6.48 during the day.

Windstream also traded at a 52-week low of $8.07 during the day before closing up less than 1 percent in heavy trading.

Index volume was 28.7 million shares; the average is 24.1 million.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business, Pages 27 on 11/16/2012

Upcoming Events