Nonprofits' storm-loan deadline Oct. 6
Private nonprofits have until Oct. 6 to apply for a federal disaster loan for economic injury from the severe winter storm that happened in early December.
The loans are available in Crawford, Fulton, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Madison, Marion, Newton, Polk, Scott, Searcy, Sebastian, Sharp and Van Buren counties. Private nonprofits that provide essential services of a governmental nature during the December 5-6 storm are eligible for the low interest loans.
Linda Nelson, director of the U.S. Small Business Administration's Arkansas District Office, said in a Tuesday release that eligible private nonprofits of any size may apply for up to $2 million in loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the storm.
Loans have an interest rate of 2.625 percent with terms up to 30 years, with amounts set by the Small Business Administration on the basis of the applicant's finances.
Applicants may apply online at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/ or obtain forms by calling (800) 659-2955 or emailing [email protected] .
-- John Magsam
LR-area '13 GDP up 2.2%; NWA up 7.4%
The gross domestic product for the Little Rock metropolitan area rose 2.2 percent in 2013 to $40.9 billion from the previous year, according to research by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Little Rock ranked 65th among the country's metropolitan areas in GDP in 2013, the federal agency said. Gross domestic product is the value of all goods and services produced in an area.
The Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area ranked 97th in the country in 2013, with GDP of $23.8 billion, up 7.4 percent from 2012.
The 2013 GDP figures in Arkansas' other metropolitan areas were $10.5 billion in Fort Smith, up 3.6 percent from 2012; $5.1 billion in Texarkana, down 0.5 percent from 2012; $4.9 billion in Jonesboro, up 3.1 percent from 2012; $3.3 billion in Pine Bluff, down 0.5 percent from 2012; $3.2 billion in Hot Springs, up 3.7 percent from 2012.
-- David Smith
Family Dollar again rejects rival's offer
Family Dollar Stores again rejected on Wednesday a $9.1 billion takeover approach from Dollar General and urged shareholders not to tender their shares to the discount retailer's bigger rival.
The step was largely formal. Dollar General is looking to derail an agreement that Family Dollar struck to sell itself to a smaller competitor, Dollar Tree, for $8.5 billion.
In a news release, Family Dollar said Dollar General's offer to buy shares directly from shareholders is a symbolic gesture because it won't actually purchase the shares unless the two companies reach an agreement.
But Family Dollar reiterated that the offer remains problematic. Combining the two companies, it has argued, would run afoul of antitrust regulators who would be displeased that two of the country's biggest dollar stores would be combining.
-- The New York Times
Parade magazine to get new owner
Parade magazine, a longtime Sunday supplement in more than 700 newspapers, is getting a new owner.
Nashville, Tenn.-based Athlon Media Group has entered into an agreement to purchase Parade and Dash magazines from Parade Media Group, which is owned by Advance Publications.
The purchase price was not disclosed.
"The opportunity to acquire these marquee brands is very exciting," Chuck Allen, president and chief executive officer of Athlon Media Group, said in a statement. "Parade and Dash position the company to have the most effective and efficient advertising and retail activation reach of any media group across the U.S."
Parade magazine has deep roots in Chicago. It began in 1941 as Parade, The Weekly Picture Newspaper, by Marshall Field III, founder of the Chicago Sun, predecessor to the Chicago Sun-Times. In 1958, Field Enterprises sold Parade to New York financier John Hay Whitney. Parade was purchased by Booth Newspapers in 1973 and became a subsidiary of Advance Publications three years later.
-- Chicago Tribune
Butterball turkeys weighing in better
Thanksgiving in the U.S. promises to be more bountiful this year than last as Butterball LLC turkeys stuff themselves with feed to fatten up, increasing supplies of the Thanksgiving and Christmas staple.
Bill Klump, the chief marketing officer of Garner, N.C.-based Butterball, the largest U.S. turkey producer, said he expects "no problems" in supplies of large, fresh whole birds this year.
In 2013, the company reported "limited availability" of fresh birds two weeks before Thanksgiving on Nov. 28 as turkeys failed to pack on the pounds on some farms. Butterball had "ample" supplies of frozen whole turkeys and shipped 100 percent of customer orders.
"What we ended up with were the same number of head, but slightly lighter birds last year," Klump said. "This year, everything is absolutely perfect. Retailers are taking inventories as we speak and starting to put things into their distribution systems."
Butterball is the largest U.S. turkey producer with annual output of about 1.3 billion pounds, according to WATT PoultryUSA rankings.
-- Bloomberg News
Kohl's Yuletide hiring to rise by a third
NEW YORK -- Kohl's Corp. says it will hire more than 67,000 seasonal workers nationwide for the Christmas shopping season, about a third more than last year's 50,000.
The department store operator expects to hire an average of 50 workers per store, up 25 percent from a year ago. Kohl's, based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., operates 1,163 stores in 49 states. It also expects to hire 9,300 people for jobs at its distribution centers and 670 people for seasonal positions in its credit operations.
A retailer's hiring plans can indicate its expectations for the Christmas shopping season, which accounts for 20 percent of the retail industry's annual sales, according to the National Retail Federation.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 09/18/2014