Army gives contract to Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin was awarded a $255 million contract late last year from the U.S. Army for production of guided multiple launch rocket system unitary rockets, the defense contractor said Thursday.
Work on the rockets will be performed at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Camden and Dallas, a news release states.
The weapon is “an all-weather rocket designed for fast deployment that delivers precision strike beyond the reach of most conventional weapons,” according to the news release.
Lockheed Martin, a Bethesda, Md.-based security and aerospace company, has produced more than 25,000 of the rockets at its facility in Camden, according to the news release. The rockets will be delivered beginning in April 2015.
- Jessica Seaman
Parker Auto Group adds Minis to lineup
The Parker Auto Group is adding a Mini Cooper franchise to its three Little Rock dealerships with the new dealership opening tentatively set for May 1, said Bruce Gilby, general manager of Parker Lexus.
Gilby said the company is hiring 20 sales, service and support staff for its new “MINI of Little Rock” dealership, at West Markham Street and Chenal Parkway in a building that once housed a Gwatney Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealership. Eric Shaw will be the the new dealership’s manager.
While the Arkansas Motor Vehicle Commission reports that there are currently 2,669 Mini Coopers registered in Arkansas, Gilby noted that the closest Mini dealership is in Cordova, Tenn., east of Memphis. Most Mini models, which can range in price from $20,000 to $45,000, are made in Oxford, England, by an independent subsidiary of BMW Group.
“It’s a fun car to drive. It gets great gas mileage,” Gilby said.
Parker Auto Group has dealerships for Cadillac, Audi and Lexus. Minis are sold in the United States through a network of 119 dealers in 38 states.
- Glen Chase
Arkansas Index falls
3.21 to end 330.76
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 3.21 to 330.76 Thursday.
“U.S. stocks moved lower on Thursday despite better-than-expected jobless claims and retail sales as the ongoing concerns around Ukraine and China’s economy weighed on sentiment,” said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Arkansas Best shares fell 3.1 percent in average trading.
Acxiom fell 2.5 percent in light trading.
Windstream rose 1.4 percent in below-average trading.
Volume for the index was 18.9 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, Pages 29 on 03/14/2014