QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Northwest Arkansas seems to be bouncing back pretty strongly [in the housing market], particularly Washington County home sales.”
Michael Pakko, chief economist, Institute for Economic Advancement at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Article, 1D
Tyson joins fight against child obesity
Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale said Monday it is partnering with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation in a program designed to help fight childhood obesity.
The company chose Edward R. Murrow High School in New York City to be the first recipient of the Tyson K-12 Wellness Grant for its nutritional and wellness efforts.
The company funded the purchase of new equipment for the school’s wellness room, including air hockey and ping pong tables, stationary cycles, two televisions for exercise gaming systems, an Xbox 360 fitness bundle and other exercise equipment.
Students at the school also will have new lunch options.
Murrow High School is a member of the Alliance for a Healthier Generations’s Healthy School Program, which supports more than 16,000 schools in the nation, including more than 70 schools in New York City. The alliance was founded by the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation.
Apple apologizes to Chinese for iPhone
SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has apologized for the company’s iPhone warranty and repair policies in China after criticism over customer service in its second-largest market.
Apple is changing its practices to offer full replacements of older iPhones experiencing problems, Cook said in a letter posted on the company’s Chinese website.
Apple also vowed to improve training, customer service and monitoring of stores authorized to sell its products in China.
“In the process of studying the issues, we recognize that some people may have viewed our lack of communication as arrogant, or as a sign that we didn’t care about or value their feedback,” Cook said. “We sincerely apologize to our customers for any concern or confusion we may have caused.”
The apology came after the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, criticized the iPhone maker for poor service, including a March 27 commentary that said “Destroy Apple’s ‘Incomparable’ Arrogance.” China’s central government also said it planned increase scrutiny of contracts with electronics makers, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Some consumers in China had complained that Apple repaired broken iPhones instead of replacing the devices.
While Apple said 90 percent of customers had been satisfied by the fixes, the company also said it would replace those handsets with new ones and offer a one-year warranty.
- Bloomberg News
Tesla electric-car sales exceed target
Sales of Tesla Motors’ Model S electric sedan have exceeded the target that the Palo Alto, Calif.-based automaker set in February, allowing the company to claim its first quarterly profit.
Tesla has sold 4,750 Model S cars, or about 250 more than the February target. The better than expected sales allowed Tesla to predict “full profitability” in an amendment to its guidance for first-quarter performance.
After Tesla had reported a loss of $75 million in the fourth quarter, observers had expressed concerns about the automaker’s ability to quickly manufacture enough electric vehicles to sustain it in the long term.
Those concerns remain, but rising interest in the car among prospective buyers was viewed as great news by the company.
“I am incredibly proud of the Tesla team for their outstanding work,” said Elon Musk, Tesla Motors co-founder and chief executive.
Dole Food gets $650 million in loans
Dole Food Co. obtained $650 million in loans as the world’s biggest producer of fresh fruit and vegetables repaid debt after completing the sale of its worldwide packaged foods and Asia fresh businesses.
Dole, which sold the assets to Japanese trading firm Itochu Corp. for $1.69 billion, got a $500 million term loan and a $150 million revolving line of credit, the company said Monday in a statement. Proceeds from the asset sale and the new financing were used to pay off Dole’s $1.7 billion of debt.
“The new credit facility provides needed flexibility to enhance shareholder value and to meet future competitive challenges as we launch the new Dole,” C. Michael Carter, Dole’s president and chief operating officer, said in the statement.
Dole is eliminating its worldwide packaged foods and Asia fresh businesses after a review of its business to enhance shareholder value, the company said last year. The new Dole will have a smaller footprint and will focus on its fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, according to Monday’s statement.
In a revolving line of credit, money may be borrowed again once it’s repaid; in a term loan it can’t.
- Bloomberg News
Price at gas pump declines in March
The average U.S. gasoline pump price fell during March for the first time in 10 years, AAA, the nation’s largest motoring organization, said Monday.
The national average Monday was $3.63 a gallon, compared with $3.92 a year earlier, AAA said. Prices fell 15 cents in March, and the average should remain less expensive than last spring, Heathrow, Fla.-based AAA said. In Arkansas, the average price Monday was $3.44.
Gasoline prices have been held in check as a jump in domestic-oil output has reduced crude futures prices in New York by 6.4 percent from a year ago. U.S. refiners operated at 85.7 percent of capacity in the week ended March 22, the highest level in two months and up from 81 percent two weeks before.
“It is very unusual for gas prices to decline in early spring like we have seen this year,” Avery Ash, a spokesman for AAA in Washington, said in a statement. “An increase in refinery production and lower oil prices in early March have combined to provide rare falling prices for motorists.”
Prices rose 34 cents in the first quarter, less than the 65-cent increase in the same quarter a year earlier, AAA said in a statement. The average cost for the motor fuel has fallen 29 out of 33 days since reaching $3.79 a gallon on Feb. 27. In 2012, prices peaked at $3.94 a gallon on April 5 and April 6.
Business, Pages 24 on 04/02/2013