LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“India has huge opportunity to improve its infrastructure that the government itself has
identified as priority, and modern retail is proven to help that process.”
Scott Price,
head of Asia operations at Wal-Mart Article, 1DCar-Mart amends lines of credit
America’s Car-Mart Inc. of Bentonville and its subsidiaries have agreed to amended lines of credit with its lenders, according to a company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The first amendment increases by $20 million, to a total of $135 million, a revolving line of credit for subsidiary Colonial Auto Finance Inc. The America’s Car-Mart-Texas Car-Mart remained unchanged at $10 million, for an amended total commitment of $145 million.
The lending group includes Bank of America, N.A., a $55 million commitment, up from $50 million; BOKF N.A., doing business as Bank of Arkansas, a $40 million commitment, up from $35 million; Commerce Bank, $15 million commitment, unchanged; Fir1st Tennessee Bank, N.A., $20 million commitment, up from $15 million; and Arvest Bank, $15 million commitment, up from $10 million.
- Steve Painter
5 fewer rigs hunting oil, gas in U.S.
HOUSTON - The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. dropped this week by five to 1,859.
Texas-based oil-field services company Baker Hughes Inc.
reported Friday that 1,402 rigs were exploring for oil and 454 were searching for gas. Three were listed as miscellaneous.
A year ago, Baker Hughes listed 1,991 rigs.
Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, California lost five rigs and Louisiana dropped three. Colorado declined by two and Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas each lost one.
Pennsylvania added four rigs, while Alaska and West Virginia each gained one. New Mexico, North Dakota and Wyoming were unchanged.
The rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.
- The Associated PressNo help for dying oysters, expert says
CEDAR KEY, Fla. - Officials say an oyster collapse in the Gulf of Mexico along Florida’s Big Bend and Panhandle will just have to run its course.
Shellfish aquaculture expert Leslie Sturmer said too much salt in the water and high temperatures have stressed the oysters. They’ve also been fighting a parasite.
The oysters have been dying from Cedar Key west to Apalachicola. Sturmer said clams farmed in the same areas are not affected.
Restaurants in north Florida told The Gainesville Sun that the shortage is forcing them to sell smaller oysters at higher prices.
Mark Berrigan of Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said the die-off might be worst in Cedar Key. State data show the Levy County island community produced 131,821 pounds of oysters last year.
- The Associated Press
BlackBerry maker quick to fix glitch
TORONTO - BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion said Friday that it resolved a service disruption affecting users in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
BlackBerry announced the issues Friday in postings on Facebook and Twitter, and said it fixed the troubles after a few hours. It apologized to customers for the inconvenience.
The service failure rekindled unpleasant memories of last year’s troubles with e-mail and chat messages that left many users deprived of service for up to three days.
Research In Motion spokesman Amy Jones did not have details on what caused the failure.
Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said he thinks the transition to the BlackBerry 10 software intended to run the new line of smart phones could be a cause of the problem.
Research In Motion is preparing to introduce the new phones early next year, after a series of delays.
“We think that switchover is causing the difficulties,” Misek said.
- The Associated PressDarden whips up a profit surprise
NEW YORK - Darden Restaurants Inc. on Friday reported a better-than-expected profit for its fiscal first quarter as it prepared to revamp the menus for its struggling Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains.
The company also declared a quarterly dividend, sending shares up more than 5 percent and briefly touching an all-time high.
For the three months ended Aug. 26, the company earned $110.8 million, or 85 cents per share. That’s compared with $106.6 million, or 78 cents per share, a year ago. Earnings from continuing operations were 87 cents per share.
Analysts expected earnings of 83 cents per share, according to a FactSet survey.
Revenue rose 5 percent to $2.03 billion from $1.94 billion a year ago, meeting Wall Street’s expectations.
Darden also declared a quarterly dividend of 50 cents per share. The dividend will be paid Nov. 1 to shareholders of record Oct. 10.
Shares of Darden rose $2.49, or 4.6 percent, to close Friday at $57.21 after hitting an all-time high of $57.93 earlier in the session.
The Orlando, Fla.-based company owns and runs more than 2,000 restaurants.
- The Associated Press
Shell out to keep Greenpeace at bay
AMSTERDAM - Royal Dutch Shell PLC is taking Greenpeace International to court to have the environmental organization banned from holding any protest within 1,640 feet of any Shell property, or face a $1.3 million fine.
The suit at Amsterdam’s District Court, filed Friday, shows Shell aggressively taking the offensive to protect its $4.5 billion investment in drilling for oil in the Arctic waters off the coast of Alaska. A verdict is not expected for two weeks.
Shell has its headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, while Greenpeace International is based in Amsterdam.
The oil company said in a statement several of Greenpeace’s recent actions have “have gone well beyond the limits of acceptable protest.”
“Shell continues to respect the legitimate right of people to peacefully protest against the activities we undertake,” the statement said.
Shell asked for the ban to go into effect immediately and last six months. Greenpeace called the move a “legal sledgehammer to stifle public discourse.” - The Associated Press
Business, Pages 32 on 09/22/2012