NEWS IN BRIEF

— UA gets berry grant from Wal-Mart arm

The University of Arkansas System’s Agriculture Division received a $3 million grant from the Walmart Foundation to develop a national program to enhance sustainable strawberry production.

The division’s Center for Agriculture and Rural Sustainability will use competitive grants to award money to other universities with the aim of expanding where strawberries can be grown.

“Strawberries are a highly perishable fruit with a short shelf life in the supply chain,” Curt Rom a UA horticulture professor said in a release Monday. It’s estimated that product losses from the time berries are picked to when they reach consumers can reach 36 percent at an annual cost of $1.14 billion.

The Walmart Foundation is the charity arm of Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

  • John Magsam

2 speakers set for Women in IT topics

Kim Clower, director of information technology for General Motors Co., and Meg Greenhouse, vice president of strategy for innovation, governance and communications for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., will be keynote speakers for The Women in IT Conference at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

The conference, set for March 7-8, includes topics such as the state of women in information technology, cloud computing and building effective relationships.

The event is being held at the institute at the UA Sam M. Walton College of Business. More information about the conference agenda and registration can be found online at http:// waltoncollege.uark.edu/.

  • John Magsam

State index drops 8.23; only 1 gainer

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, tumbled 8.23 to 257.10 Monday.

“Blue-chip stocks plunged and the Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points for its third decline in four trading days amid concerns that Italy might give up on previously announced austerity measures designed to stabilize its economy,” said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Delta Trust Investments Inc. in Little Rock. “Arkansas equities were noticeably weak as 15 issues declined and only one, Wal-Mart, managed to eke out a minuscule gain.”

Trucking firms P.A.M.

Transportation Services and Arkansas Best dropped 3.7 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.

Volume for the index was 27.7 million shares, compared with average daily volume of 31.3 million shares.

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 23 on 02/26/2013

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