City approves bonds for Nucor-mill work
The Blytheville City Council approved a resolution this week to provide more than $100 million in industrial revenue bonds to assist in funding for a capital improvement by Nucor-Yamato Steel.
The expansion will create about 10 jobs for Nucor-Yamato, said Clif Chitwood, the economic-development director in Mississippi County.
The city’s resolution indicates that Nucor-Yamato wants to expand a building and make electrical improvements including an automated roll storage and retrieval system for the purpose of making hot-rolled sheet metal, according to the Blytheville Courier-News.
The industrial revenue bonds, also known as Act 9 bonds, are the oldest economic-development tool available for companies in the state, Chitwood said.
After the bonds are issued, Nucor-Yamato will buy them, Chitwood said, eliminating risk for the city.
Osceola city officials this week approved $2 million in incentives for the Big River project, a $1.1 billion steel mill to be built near Osceola.
The money will be used to buy the land where the mill will be built. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall.
- David Smith
Home BancShares declares stock split
The board of directors of Home BancShares, which owns Centennial Bank, has declared a 2-for-1 stock split, the Conway bank said Friday.
The stock split will be payable June 12 to shareholders of record as of May 22.
An investor who owns 100 shares of Home BancShares will receive another 100 shares June 12, but the value of each share will drop by half.
Home BancShares currently has about 28.1 million shares and will have about 56.2 million shares after the split.
The bank’s stock closed Friday at $39.40 in trading on the Nasdaq exchange, up $1.25. It matched its 52-week high of $39.41 during trading Friday.
Home BancShares went public in June 2006.
Centennial Bank has 54 branches in Florida, 46 in Arkansas and seven in Alabama.
- David Smith
13 state stocks rise taking index higher
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, gained 3.12 to 263.15 Friday.
Thirteen stocks rose, two declined and one was unchanged.
Arkansas Best shares saw the best performance of the day, climbing 4.5 percent in above-average trading.
USA Truck fell 4.1 percent in light trading.
For the week, nine stocks declined and seven advanced.
P.A.M. Transportation Services jumped 7.9 percent for the week.
Deltic Timber lost 9.3 percent for the week.
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 29 on 04/20/2013