QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Wal-Mart is adapting. Four or five years from now, it may be significant.”
Patty Edwards, Trutina Financial retail analyst, on the expansion of Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market and Express stores Article, 1D
Bank of Ozarks chief earns $5.6 million
George Gleason, chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of the Ozarks, earned almost $5.6 million last year, the highest amount of any of the firm’s executives, the Little Rock bank said Friday in its proxy statement.
Public companies file proxy statements each year to list the income of top executives, name directors up for election and disclose the date of the annual meeting.
Gleason, who owns almost 10 percent of the bank, made $1.2 million in salary, $1.7 million in stock awards and option awards, $2.1 million in the exercise of stock options and $500,000 in other income.
The total income of other executives last year, including salary, stock and option awards, stock options exercised and other income, was: Dan Thomas, chief lending officer, $1.7 million; Greg McKinney, chief financial officer, $813,000; Tyler Vance, chief banking officer, $805,000; and Mark Ross, vice chairman, $686,000.
Mediation ordered in Stewart case
NEW YORK - After almost three weeks of testimony, the judge overseeing the lawsuits that Macy’s brought against J.C.
Penney and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has sent the parties into mediation.
If the companies do not reach an agreement before April 8, Justice Jeffrey Oing of the New York state Supreme Court will continue hearing the case. Representatives for all three companies said Thursday that they would participate in the mediation process.
Penney has agreed not to sell any Martha Stewart-designed goods in the categories over which Macy’s is fighting - bedding, bath and kitchen - until April 8. Penney has been vague about when it planned to sell those products, telling investors to expect an introduction in May, although its lawyer said this week that they were supposed to be in stores in April.
Macy’s had a contract with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia giving it exclusive rights to Stewart’s products in bedding, bath and kitchen. However, in 2011, Penney invested $38.5 million in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and announced that it would be selling those products, too.
Tally of U.S. oil, gas rigs down by 5
HOUSTON - Oil-field services company Baker Hughes Inc. said the number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. dropped by five this week to 1,752.
The Houston-based company said in its weekly report Friday that 1,341 rigs were actively exploring for oil and 407 for natural gas. Four were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, Baker Hughes counted 1,973 working rigs.
Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, California gained five rigs, Alaska, Colorado and Louisiana each rose by two, and New Mexico and North Dakota saw an increase of one each.
Oklahoma, meanwhile, lost seven rigs, Texas dropped six and Arkansas and Pennsylvania each decreased by two. West Virginia and Wyoming remained unchanged.
The rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.
- The Associated Press
Whole Foods to carry genetic labels
NEW YORK - Whole Foods says all products in its North American stores will have labels disclosing whether they contain genetically modified ingredients by 2018.
The company says it’s the first national grocery chain to set such a deadline for labeling foods that contain genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
Whole Foods Market Inc. notes that it has been working with suppliers for years to source products that don’t have GMO ingredients. It says it currently sells more than 3,000 GMO-free products, more than any other retailer in North America.
- The Associated Press
Beechcraft to protest Air Force deal
WICHITA, Kan. - Airplane-maker Beechcraft will formally protest an Air Force decision to award a contract worth more than $427 million to a competitor.
Beechcraft, formerly Hawker Beechcraft, claimed Friday that an estimated 1,400 jobs in Kansas and other states are in jeopardy. The Machinists union is urging a reversal of the decision.
Sierra Nevada, based in Sparks, Nev., won the contract to build 20 light air support planes with Brazil-based Embraer in Jacksonville, Fla. The planes will be used in Afghanistan, and the contract could be worth as much as $1 billion, depending on future orders.
The competition for the award has been on for nearly three years and has been embroiled in legal challenges. Its loss deals a major blow to Beechcraft as it emerges from bankruptcy protection.
- The Associated Press
BP warns of higher settlement cost
NEW ORLEANS - BP is warning investors that the price tag will be higher than initially estimated for its multi-billion dollar settlement with businesses and residents who claim the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico cost them money.
The London-based oil giant estimated last year it would spend about $7.8 billion to resolve tens of thousands of claims covered by the settlement agreement. But in a regulatory filing this week, BP PLC said businesses’ claims have been paid at much higher average amounts than anticipated.
The company also said it can’t reliably estimate how much it will pay for unresolved business claims after a ruling Tuesday by the federal judge supervising the uncapped settlement. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier rejected BP’s interpretation of certain settlement provisions.
- The Associated Press
McDonald’s sales slip in February
NEW YORK - McDonald’s says a monthly sales figure dipped again as it struggled with intensifying competition and challenging economic conditions around the world.
The Oak Brook, Ill.-based company said sales at restaurants open at least 13 months fell 1.5 percent in February. It noted that February sales last year benefited from an extra day because it was a leap year. When excluding the impact of that extra day, it said sales rose 1.7 percent.
In the United States, the figure fell 3.3 percent. In Europe, it slipped 0.5 percent, and in the region including Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa it fell 1.6 percent.
The figure is a key metric because it strips out the effects of newly opened and closed locations. Before October, McDonald’s Corp. hadn’t logged a monthly sales decline for nearly a decade. But the figure dropped in January as well, making February the third decline in just five months.
Business, Pages 30 on 03/09/2013