Bentonville at top of Tech index in 2Q
Bentonville, with a rating of 107.03, topped the Arkansas Tech Business Index for the second quarter of 2016, according to the ranking by the university's College of Business.
"Construction starts, new business starts and the general increase in business climate have all contributed to making Northwest Arkansas, which includes Bentonville, the thriving area that it is," said Craig Rivaldo, president and chief executive officer of Arvest Bank in Benton County, in a prepared statement.
The index measures economic activity in 20 Arkansas cities, measuring labor, the housing market, construction and retail sales.
A rating above 100 indicates that the city is performing better than the state average.
Other ratings on the index include Rogers at 104.34; North Little Rock at 102.80; Fayetteville at 102.14; and Little Rock at 90.30. The complete index is available at www.atu.edu/atbi/.
-- Jessica Seaman
Fortune lists LR firm as top 50 workplace
Little Rock tech company First Orion has been ranked 28th on Fortune's 2016 Top Best 50 Small and Medium workplaces, the company said Wednesday.
The ranking is based on feedback from employees in an anonymous survey.
"At First Orion we believe investing in the well-being of our employees is the foundation for the overall success of our company," Chief Executive Officer Charles Morgan said in a prepared statement.
"By ranking 28th on such a prestigious list of recognition we feel reassured that our priorities are in alignment with those of our employees," he said.
First Orion, a private company, owns PrivacyStar, a smartphone application that gives users the ability to block unwanted calls, find out who called through a reverse directory search, and report calls to federal regulators.
-- Jessica Seaman
13 state stocks fall as index dips 4.24
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 4.24 to 330.01 Thursday.
"U.S. stocks finished lower but off of worst levels as concerns over Chinese growth weighed on markets," said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Thirteen of the 18 stocks on the index declined.
Total volume for the index was 21.9 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 10/14/2016