Business news in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Significant weather conditions across most of the country led to a decline in buyer traffic last month.”

Kevin Kelly, National Association of Home Builders chairman Article, 1D

Economic group’s chief to speak at UA

The head of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission will speak to students and the public Friday at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville about how education and economic development intertwine.

Grant Tennille, executive director of the commission, will kick off the Sam M. Walton College of Business M.B.A. Distinguished Speaker Series with his talk on “Education and Economic Development: Two Sides of the Same Coin.” He will speak at 9 a.m. at the auditorium of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development. At 10:30 a.m., Tennille and other commission directors will give a briefing on Arkansas’ priority sectors for development and investment.

Both events are free and open to the public.

Becky Thompson, commission deputy director for global business, and Bentley Story, the director for business development, also will attend the event.

Contest highlights state entrepreneurs

The nomination period for the second annual Battle of the Brands tournament closes Friday. The contest focuses on the legacy and future of Arkansas entrepreneurship.

The tournament is overseen by the Arkansas Capital Corp. Group. Businesses can nominate themselves, or customers can nominate their favorite operations for the tournament at arksourcelink.com/brands. Votes also can be cast at that website.

To qualify, the business or its entrepreneurial roots must be in based in Arkansas; it must show growth and innovation; and it must have been in business for one year.

The first round of 64 companies randomly selected to fill a tournament bracket will be announced March 3. It will be reduced in the coming weeks by rounds of voting, with a single winner named “Emperor of Entrepreneurship” on March 31.

In 2013, the top four companies included Yarnell’s Premium Ice Cream, Whole Hog Cafe, The Twisted Purl and Guillermo’s Gourmet Grounds. The Twisted Purl won the tournament.

  • John Magsam

Health-law seminar to be held in LR

Small-business owners can learn about their health insurance options and requirements at a free seminar next Wednesday.

The “Informed Businesses: Navigating the Affordable Care Act” event will be 1-3 p.m. at The Hatcher Agency, 310 S. Louisiana St. in Little Rock.

The seminar is presented by the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in partnership with the Arkansas Insurance Department’s Health Connector Division and sponsored by The Hatcher Agency, Bank of England and ENG Lending. There is no charge to attend.

The session will cover key provisions of the federal health-care law - the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - and will focus on important aspects of the law as they relate specifically to businesses.

Registration is required. Those wishing to register can call (501) 683-7700 or visit asbtdc.org/training.

Casinos’ websites online after hacking

Las Vegas Sands Corp. restored its websites to service Monday after almost a week offline, after an attack by hackers who haven’t been identified.

The websites of Sands and its casinos in the U.S., Singapore and Macau, China, had been out of operation, Ron Reese, a spokesman for the Las Vegas-based company, said in an email. Email service for employees, which had been disabled by the intruders, was restored Friday.

“We continue to investigate what, if any, other systems may have been impacted,” Reese said.

The sites had been down since hackers defaced the home page of Sands’ Bethlehem, Pa., casino Feb. 11. The intruders posted employees’ personal information and criticized Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson, a staunch supporter of Israel, over his comments on Iran’s nuclear plans.

Sands, the world’s largest casino operator, is working with state and federal law-enforcement agencies investigating the attack.

Vatican admits watchdog-group dispute

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican has acknowledged infighting at its financial watchdog agency that recently led its president to step down.

Rome daily newspaper Il Messaggero on Tuesday cited a Jan. 16 letter from the agency’s board of directors to the Vatican secretary of state complaining that it had been kept in the dark about the agency’s activities investigating suspect financial transactions inside the Holy See. The letter said the downward spiral began with the arrival of Swiss anti-money-laundering expert Rene Bruelhart as director.

The board is made up of Italians with close ties to Italy’s financial institutions, which have long had a contentious relationship with the Holy See.

The founding statute of the Financial Information Authority says the board and president have strategic oversight over the agency, but aren’t involved in operational activities.

Washington site lands Boeing project

EVERETT, Wash. - Boeing said Tuesday that it has picked Everett, Wash., as the site to build wings for its new 777X aircraft.

The company said Tuesday that the wing center will be north of its Everett factory and will sustain thousands of area jobs in the years to come. Construction on the new facility is to begin later this year.

On Jan. 3, Boeing machinists narrowly approved a contract in which they conceded some benefits to secure assembly of the new 777X in Washington state. The same machinists rejected a Boeing contract proposal in November. Local union leaders had argued against a second vote, saying the offers were too similar. National Machinists union leaders pushed for - and got - the second vote.

Because of the large size of the 777X wing, a location close to the Everett final-assembly line was seen as a logical choice. At 114 feet long and 23 feet wide, the 777X wing will be the largest Boeing has ever built.

The Chicago-based company plans to deliver its first 777X aircraft in 2020.

  • The Associated Press

Business, Pages 25 on 02/19/2014

Upcoming Events