Business news in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Practically, in any acquisition, the way you make a transaction like this effective and work for stockholders as well as for your customers is to close overlapping branches.”

Randy Dennis, president of DD&F Consulting Group, a Little Rock based bank consulting firm, on Simmons First National Bank’s announcement to close 27 branches.

Article, 1D

Tenants’ suit tossed after deal reported A federal judge cited attorneys’ reports of a settlement in dismissing a lawsuit Wednesday in which residents of Benton, Springdale, Little Rock and Dermott alleged that a Fayetteville-based apartment management company used deceptive and unconscionable practices.

U.S. District Judge James Moody issued an order dismissing the case against Lindsey Management Co. Inc. with prejudice, meaning that it cannot later be refiled, noting that the court will retain jurisdiction for 60 days to enforce the settlement.

Attorney Mickey Stevens of Benton, who originally filed the lawsuit in Saline County Circuit Court in November 2012, said Wednesday that details of the settlement are confidential. He said the court hadn’t yet addressed the plaintiffs’ request that the case be certified as a class-action to include certain tenants who have lived in Lindsey rental properties in the previous five years.

The lawsuit accused the management company and its shareholders, directors and officers of orchestrating a scheme in which title to each property is held by a separate legal entity to avoid liability from lawsuits. The suit also alleged that Lindsey has a practice in which managers and leasing employees show prospective tenants model apartments that are in good condition, then place them in apartments that are in poor condition.

J.C. Penney to fire 2,000, shut 33 stores

NEW YORK - Department-store operator J.C. Penney announced Wednesday that it will cut 2,000 jobs and close 33 stores as it tries to get back on the path to profitability.

None of the store closings is in Arkansas.

The news raises concerns that Penney’s Christmas season sales were not what the company hoped for and that the chain needs to do even more to recover from a turnaround plan that has had disastrous results.

J.C. Penney Co., based in Plano, Texas, said earlier this month that it was pleased with its Christmas results but declined to give sales figures, raising worries among Wall Street analysts about how the retailer fared.

The cuts announced Wednesday should save more than $65 million annually. The company will take $26 million in pretax charges in the third quarter and $17 million in future quarters. Penney has 116,000 workers and operates more than 1,100 stores. All the job cuts are related to the store closings.

Boulevard Bank branches in Missouri sold Great Southern Bank said Wednesday that it has purchased two Boulevard Bank branches in Neosho, Mo.

The branches at 111 E. Main St. and 713 S. Neosho Blvd.

represent about $65 million in deposits and $6 million in loans, according to a release. The deal is expected to close sometime in the first quarter, if approved by regulators.

Information about the acquisition will be mailed to Boulevard Bank customers and they will be able to use the bank as normal. Great Southern Bank operated a single banking center in Neosho before the acquisition, and it is expected to relocate it to the Neosho Boulevard location.

Based in Springfield, Mo., Great Southern Bank has assets of $3.6 billion. It’s a subsidiary of publicly traded Great Southern Bankcorp Inc.

Wal-Mart faces U.S. charges in ’13 strikes

WASHINGTON - Federal officials have filed a formal complaint charging that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. violated the rights of protesting and striking workers last year.

The National Labor Relations Board claims Wal-Mart illegally fired, disciplined or threatened more than 100 employees in 14 states for participating in legally protected activities to complain about wages and working conditions.

The labor board’s general counsel first laid out the charges last November, but held off on filing a complaint while trying to work out a settlement with Wal-Mart. The company has insisted its actions were legal and justified.

The complaint will go before an administrative law judge. If Wal-Mart is found liable, it could be required to award workers back pay and reinstatement and reverse any disciplinary action.

  • The Associated Press

Apple to refund app purchases by kids

WASHINGTON - Apple will refund at least $32.5 million to consumers to settle a federal case involving purchases that children made without their parents’ permission while playing on mobile apps, the government announced Wednesday.

The Federal Trade Commission said Apple will make full refunds for any such in-app purchases made by children using mobile phones and other devices, and incurring charges by accident or without parents’ permission.

Apple will have to change its billing practices to make it more obvious that a purchase is taking place during the course of the game or app.

The commission said it had received tens of thousands of complaints about unauthorized charges.

  • The Associated Press

Toyota vows to top U.S. fuel-economy aim

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest seller of hybrid electric vehicles, vowed Wednesday to surpass U.S. rules intended to double fuel economy and reduce carbon emissions.

Automakers in 2011 agreed to a plan by President Barack Obama targeting an industry wide increase in Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, to 54.5 miles per gallon of gasoline by 2025. Increased sales of hybrids and other alternative-powered vehicles will help Toyota comply with that rule, said Bob Carter, the automaker’s U.S. senior vice president.

“The 2015 to 2025 CAFE regulations will require automakers to significantly reduce emissions and increase fuel economy across their fleet of vehicles,” Carter said at Deutsche Bank’s auto industry conference in Detroit. “That won’t be easy, but at Toyota we plan to exceed these new standards.”

The U.S. efficiency push has resulted in dozens of new hybrids, plug-in cars, electric vehicles and models powered by fuel-saving gasoline engines entering the market in the past three years.

Sales of vehicles powered partially or entirely by electricity totaled at least 578,000, up more than 100,000 from 2012.

Business, Pages 28 on 01/16/2014

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