News in brief

Plant board looking to control ash beetle

The Arkansas State Plant Board will consider a proposed quarantine on the movement of all hardwood firewood, ash nursery stock and ash logs, pulpwood, mulch and compost in 25 counties after the emerald ash borer was found in Clark, Columbia, Dallas, Hot Spring, Nevada and Ouachita counties.

The larva of the emerald ash borer, a beetle about a half-inch long, create tunnels immediately under the bark of ash trees, which kills the tree. A native of Asia, the beetles' presence was first confirmed in the United States in 2002 and has killed trees in 27 states and several Canadian provinces.

The Plant Board will take up the quarantine proposal aimed at slowing the beetle's spread on Sept. 11. The board could impose an emergency rule to barring the movement of firewood or nursery stock out of the quarantine counties for 120 days to give the board to adopt a broader rule in a process that will include public hearings.

More information about the emerald ash borer is available online at www.emeraldashborer.info or www.arinvasives.org.

-- Glen Chase

Unemployment falls in state metro areas

The unemployment rate fell in all seven Arkansas metropolitan areas in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday.

Northwest Arkansas had the lowest unemployment rate in July at 5.3 percent, down from 6.3 percent in July last year. The Little Rock area unemployment rate was 6 percent in July, down from 7.2 percent a year earlier.

Other July unemployment rates in Arkansas' metropolitan areas, compared with July 2013, were:

Jonesboro, 6.1 percent, down from 7.8 percent.

Fort Smith, 6.5 percent, down from 8.2 percent.

Texarkana, 6.5 percent, down from 7.7 percent.

Hot Springs, 6.7 percent, down from 8.1 percent.

Pine Bluff, 9.2 percent, down from 10.9 percent.

Arkansas' unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in July. The national rate was also 6.2 percent.

-- David Smith

Arkansas Index falls 1.08; Tyson up 1.3%

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 1.08 to 355.04 Wednesday.

"U.S. stocks stalled on Wednesday, ending essentially flat, a day after the S&P touched an all-time high as markets await key economic releases [today]," said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock."

Tyson Foods shares rose 1.3 percent on average volume.

America's Car-Mart lost 2.6 percent in heavy trading.

Total volume of the index was 15.3 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 on 08/28/2014

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