Two partner on Hot Springs rehab center
CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs, a Catholic Health Initiatives' hospital, and HealthSouth Corp. recently began operations of CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs Rehabilitation Hospital, St. Vincent said Tuesday.
The 27-bed facility, an affiliate of HealthSouth, operates on the campus of CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs at 300 Werner St.
But the joint venture partners plan to relocate the rehabilitation unit to a 40-bed hospital at 1636 Higdon Ferry Road in Hot Springs this summer.
The rehabilitation hospital will provide physical rehabilitation to patients who have experienced strokes, trauma, brain injury, complex orthopedic conditions and other major illnesses or injuries.
-- David Smith
ArcBest CEO voted in as board chairman
ArcBest Corp. Chief Executive Officer Judy McReynolds has been elected chairman of the company's board of directors. She will succeed Robert Young II, who is retiring after the company's annual meeting April 26.
Young, 75, has been one of the company's directors since 1970 and board chairman since 2004. His career at the company, previously known as Arkansas Best, begin in 1964. Young served as CEO from 1988 to 2006.
"Judy has been a strong leader in her six years as CEO, and as she takes on the role of Board Chairman, I have great confidence that our company is in the right hands for the future," Young said in a statement.
In addition, ArcBest announced director Steven Spinner will serve in a new position as lead independent director for one year. Spinner, who is the CEO of United Natural Foods Inc., has been an ArcBest board member since 2011.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
Hancock Fabrics again files bankruptcy
Hancock Fabrics Inc., one of the largest fabric sellers in the United States, sought protection from creditors for the second time in less than a decade, saying it will use the bankruptcy to explore a sale, close stores and ramp up its online presence.
The retailer, which has more than 250 locations in 37 states, said it seeks to close 70 stores immediately. It has an agreement with a liquidator, Great American Group, to expedite those closings, according to court papers filed Tuesday. Great American also will serve as a backup bidder for its assets while Hancock continues to seek higher and better offers, and potentially sell itself whole as an ongoing business.
The company is seeking court permission to take out an operating loan of up to $100 million from Wells Fargo, which would serve as an agent to lenders.
Hancock had filed for bankruptcy protection in 2007, emerging the next year with a business it said benefited from the reorganization. Last year, the Baldwyn, Miss., company said "intense" competition threatened its ability to continue as a going concern. Hancock's rivals include Wal-Mart Stores and Michaels Stores Inc., as well as online merchants.
-- Bloomberg News
Cuba's Castro makes the rounds in Paris
PARIS -- Cuban President Raul Castro held a series of meetings Tuesday with senior French officials, the second day of a state visit to France aimed at boosting business ties between the two countries.
Castro has been received with all honors for the first state visit ever of a Cuban president to France.
His schedule Tuesday in Paris included meetings with UNESCO chief Irina Bokova, Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. He also was to visit the Musee de l'Homme, a museum focusing on human evolution.
French companies already working with Cuba -- such as Pernod Ricard beverages, the hotel company Accor, the Bouygues construction group and the shipping group CMA CGM -- could get new development opportunities.
On Monday, President Francois Hollande called on the U.S. to lift its economic embargo in a joint appearance with his Cuban counterpart before a state dinner at Elysee Palace.
-- The Associated Press
Pricey liquors fuel strong sales for 2015
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Producers of Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey are toasting another year of strong sales and revenue growth, led by consumers increasingly ordering high-priced, super-premium brands.
Combined U.S. revenue for bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and rye whiskey shot up 7.8 percent to $2.9 billion in 2015, up $210 million from the previous year, the Distilled Spirits Council said Tuesday.
Domestic volume rose 5.2 percent last year to 20.4 million cases, the distilled spirits trade group said.
Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey revenue and volume outpaced the overall distilled-spirits sector, the council said in its annual report. Rye whiskey amounts to a sliver of those overall revenue and volume figures, but it's a fast-growing part of the segment.
The popularity of top-tier products spread across the whiskey category, with double-digit gains for super-premium Scotch, Canadian and Irish whiskeys as well, the council said.
The domestic numbers reflect sales from producers or suppliers to wholesalers.
-- The Associated Press
Abu Dhabi said to plan refinery upgrade
Abu Dhabi is seeking bids for a $3 billion upgrade of its largest refinery, according to three people with direct knowledge of the project, potentially allowing the Persian Gulf state to export more of its higher quality crude grade.
The project headed by state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. includes the construction of a pipeline to the 817,000 barrel-a-day Ruwais refinery from its offshore Upper Zakum field in the Persian Gulf, according to the three people, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential.
That would allow increased exports of Murban crude, the blend from its onshore fields which trades at a premium to Upper Zakum.
The United Arab Emirates, of which Abu Dhabi is the federal capital, will continue to invest in its oil facilities, Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said last month, even as plunging oil prices slash government income.
-- Bloomberg News
Business on 02/03/2016