News in brief

NWA Council's chief exiting in September

Mike Malone, president and chief executive of the Northwest Arkansas Council, is leaving his post, according to a news release.

He is stepping down to work with Steuart Walton and Tom Walton, both sons of Jim Walton, on quality-of-life initiatives in Northwest Arkansas. Jim Walton, son of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. founder Sam Walton, is the head of Arvest Bank and in December ranked No. 9 on the Forbes list of richest Americans.

Malone will remain president and chief executive officer through the middle of September. The Northwest Arkansas Council's executive committee, headed up by Tyson Foods CEO Donnie Smith, soon will begin to look for someone to fill Malone's position.

"I will miss it, but I am very excited about taking on new challenges that further advance Northwest Arkansas as one of the best places to live and work," Malone said in a statement.

Malone has led the Northwest Arkansas Council, a nonprofit organization that promotes the region, since 2006. It was formed in 1990 by a group of Northwest Arkansas business leaders.

-- John Magsam

Port's barge tonnage hits 56,000 in July

Barge tonnage through the Little Rock Port totaled 56,000 tons in July, the Little Rock Port Authority reported Thursday.

The authority said Logistic Services Inc. has handled 309 barges during the first half of 2016, with 466,000 tons of various commodities moving across the docks of the port.

"Although fertilizer season has officially ended, the Port of Little Rock and our stevedoring partners at [Logistics Services] continue to exceed annual projections for cargo handling across the docks," said Bryan Day, executive director Port Authority.

"We are watching these activities closely over the next few months; however, we believe total tonnage will remain strong and equal last year's river activity," Day said.

-- Jessica Seaman

10 stocks down, but index advances 1.12

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, climbed 1.12 to 343.38 Friday.

Ten stocks declined and eight advanced.

America's Car-Mart rose 13.5 percent after reporting first-quarter earnings Thursday.

Wal-Mart lost 2 percent in heavy trading.

For the week, 12 stocks advanced and six declined.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business on 08/20/2016

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