Wal-Mart adds $1M to flood-relief effort
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and the Wal-Mart Foundation will contribute $1 million more toward flood-relief efforts in Louisiana.
The latest round of support is in addition to cash and in-kind donations of $500,000, which the retailer announced last week. Wal-Mart said in a news release the latest contributions will be made to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank as well as disaster relief organizations such as Los Angeles-based Team Rubicon and Springfield, Mo.-based Convoy of Hope.
The total commitment of $1.5 million will be used to provide additional food, water, cleaning supplies and other items essential to those affected by flooding in the region.
Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc. has also participated in relief efforts by sending its disaster relief team to cook meals for flood victims, volunteers and first responders last Friday. As of Sunday night, the company reported on social media it had served more than 28,000 meals in Baton Rouge.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
With $16.6B, Arvest
leads state in assets
Arvest Bank of Fayetteville had the most assets of any bank based in Arkansas with $16.6 billion on June 30, according to data released last week by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Bank of the Ozarks of Little Rock was second with $12.3 billion in assets at the end of the second quarter. But Bank of the Ozarks closed on the purchase of two out-of-state banks last month that pushed its assets to $17.9 billion.
Centennial Bank, a subsidiary of Home BancShares in Conway, was third in assets with $9.6 billion in the second quarter.
Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff had $7.5 billion in assets at the close of the second quarter followed by First Security Bank of Searcy with $5.1 billion in assets.
Bear State Bank of Little Rock was sixth with almost $2 billion in assets.
-- David Smith
Mixed day wraps up
with index off 0.82
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 0.82 to 342.56 Monday.
"The major averages were mixed as oil prices retreated and investors weighed increased speculation on the timing of an interest rate increase," said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Simmons First Investment Group Inc. in Little Rock.
America's Car-Mart jumped 5.3 percent in heavy trading.
Total volume for the index was 19.5 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 08/23/2016