NEWS IN BRIEF

USA Truck’s largest

shareholder LA firm

Baker Street Capital Management LLC is now classified as the largest individual shareholder of USA Truck stock.

The Los Angeles-based investment firm now owns 1.4 million shares, or 13.3 percent of USA Truck stock.

Those purchases were disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday. Baker Street Capital Management purchased 751,277 shares at $13 each and then purchased 648,723 shares each valued at $12.85.

Stonehouse Capital Management owns 1.305 million shares. Knight Transportation owns 1.304 million shares, and Grace & White Inc. is the largest institutional shareholder with 1.1 million shares.

Knight has offered $9 per share and the assumption of $14 million in debt in an attempt to purchase USA Truck.

-Chris Bahn

Session to link vets, business programs

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., is hosting a meeting today to help Arkansas veterans start and expand small businesses.

The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee discussion will be at 10 a.m. at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s College of Business in Room 103.

In a statement, Pryor said he wants to help direct Arkansas’ military veterans who are interested in starting businesses to the state’s assistance programs.

“I often meet men and women in uniform wanting to make the leap from soldier to business owner,” Pryor said in the statement.

“These Arkansans have the training, experience, and skill set needed to run a successful business, but may not have access to the resources and services to help turn their dream of owning a business into a reality.”

Officials from the Arkansas Small Business Administration and veteran business owners in the state will also be at the event.

  • Jessica Seaman

Arkansas Index sees decline in 15 stocks

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 3.60 to 306.63 Thursday.

“U.S. stocks pulled back on Thursday after economic growth came in ahead of expectations, signaling that the Federal Reserve could soon begin tapering its monetary stimulus program,” said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.

“The Arkansas Index moved lower as 15 stocks declined and two advanced.”

Windstream declined 5.7 percent on four times its average volume.

Arkansas Best dropped 4.2 percent, and Acxiom lost 3.9 percent.

Murphy USA gained 1.1 percent in above average trading.

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 31 on 11/08/2013

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