U.S. expects record-breaking corn crop
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Farmers will produce a record-breaking corn harvest this year, surpassing earlier expectations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which on Tuesday revised upward its estimate of this year's corn crop to 14 billion bushels to exceed last year's 13.9 billion bushel record.
A bigger crop was expected as adequate rain and cool weather created favorable growing conditions in the 18 states that produce 91 percent of the nation's corn. The abundant harvest has driven prices lower, prompting farmers to take more control of their grain marketing by building more on-farm storage, holding on to the crop and timing the sale to maximize profit.
The USDA said the amount of corn produced from each acre will reach a new nationwide average of 167.4 bushels, up from the earlier spring estimate of 165.3 bushels. The record average of 164.7 bushels per acre was set in 2009.
Iowa remains the nation's top corn producer with an expected 2.44 billion bushels. Illinois is a close second with 2.22 billion bushels, followed by Nebraska with 1.51 billion and Minnesota with 1.34 billion.
Soybean production also will set a record of 3.8 billion bushels, the USDA said, confirming its earlier prediction. The previous record was 3.4 billion bushels in 2009. Soybean production per acre also will break a record with a yield 45.4 bushels, beating the 2009 record of 44 bushels per acre.
-- The Associated Press
Veg Liquidation appeals ruling on claims
Veg Liquidation, the former owners of bankrupt Allens Inc., is appealing an order overruling objections it made to more than $2 million in claims by Pennsylvania-based D&E Farms, a produce supplier.
In the filing Monday, attorneys for Veg Liquidation and the new buyers of Allens Inc., the renamed Sager Creek Vegetable Co., appealed the ruling to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
In late July, Judge Ben Barry denied Veg Liquidation's objections that D&E Farms improperly included freight and fuel charges in its claims made under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. Barry ruled that some of the wording in the regulation is ambiguous and contradicts the intent of the statute, which he said is to ensure that valid claims are paid.
The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act regulates the sale of fresh and frozen produce to avoid unfair trade practices and ensures that sellers are paid in a timely manner. Barry is still considering objections by Veg Liquidation to nearly $10 million in other claims made by several of the company's suppliers under the act.
In late October, Siloam Springs-based Allens Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Arkansas. The case has recently been shifted to Chapter 7.
Sager Creek Acquisition Corp. bought the assets of Allens Inc. at auction in February, bidding $123.8 million. The company name changed in July.
-- John Magsam
Acura uses Sid Vicious song in TLX ad
LOS ANGELES -- Honda is starting a marketing push for its Acura brand with a commercial set to a punk rock cover of "My Way" by Sid Vicious, highlighting the development of its delayed TLX sedan.
The spot promotes the 2015 TLX, the replacement for Acura's TSX and TL sedans that was scheduled for introduction in the first half of the year. The sport sedan's release was held until this month to ensure new software, powertrain, and handling and safety technologies were ready, said Mike Accavitti, chief of the Acura brand.
"The chief engineer put it a good way: It's worse to launch a new car with new technology that doesn't work than it is launching a car with old technology," Accavitti said of the TLX. "We wanted to make sure everything was right, and because of that we pushed it back."
In the spot that starts airing next week, Acura engineers race to ready the car to a raucous version of the Frank Sinatra classic "My Way" by Vicious, the Sex Pistols bassist who died of a heroin overdose in 1979. Sinatra's version would have been "way more" expensive to use, Accavitti said, without elaborating.
-- The Associated Press
Home-price gains slow in 2nd quarter
Home price gains moderated in most of the U.S. in the second quarter as appreciation reached its slowest pace since 2012.
The median price fell from a year earlier in 47 of 173 metropolitan areas measured, the National Association of Realtors said in a report Tuesday. Eleven percent of areas had double-digit increases, compared with 37 percent in the previous quarter.
The Little Rock/North Little Rock market saw the median home price drop 6 percent to $135,600, the report said.
Home-price appreciation is moderating as more listings come on the market and buyer demand slows. The inventory of previously owned homes for sale rose 6.5 percent in June from a year earlier to 2.3 million, according to the Realtors group. That's up from a 13-year low of 1.8 million in January 2013.
"We're entering this next phase of recovery where we shift down a gear to a more sustainable pace," said Paul Diggle, U.S. property economist for Capital Economics Ltd. in London. "It's not something to worry about -- it's something to be welcomed. It means price gains are at a more sustainable footing that is more in line with income growth."
The median price for an existing single-family house in the three months through June was $212,400, up 4.4 percent from the second quarter of 2013. The median price during the first quarter rose 8.3 percent from a year earlier.
-- Bloomberg News
UBS analyst doubts RadioShack on track
RadioShack Corp.'s turnaround attempt is "highly in doubt" and new remodeled stores are unlikely to change the electronics chain's reputation, according to a report from UBS AG.
The company's effort to revamp its stores and product lineup "has been akin to throwing things against the wall to see what sticks," Michael Lasser, a UBS analyst in New York, said in the report Monday.
Since taking over last year, Chief Executive Officer Joe Magnacca has struggled to stem losses and sales declines at the Fort Worth-based retailer. Creditors blocked a plan to close 1,100 underperforming stores earlier this year, and the company is now in danger of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
RadioShack shares fell 7 cents, or 11.3 percent, to close Tuesday at 57 cents. The shares have lost more than three-quarters of their value this year. Lasser said he expects the price to drop to 50 cents over the next 12 months.
The company also faces a credit crunch, he said. At the end of last quarter, RadioShack had almost $62 million in cash and about $362 million available under a credit line that comes due in 2018, compared with total debt of $614.5 million, he said.
"The company is running in a perilous position with dwindling financial flexibility," Lasser said.
-- Bloomberg News
Business on 08/13/2014