News in brief

Hair salons to close in 600 Wal-Marts

About 600 SmartStyle salons located in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. stores across the country will close at the end of the month, according to Regis Corp.

The Minnesota-based salon owner and operator said Monday that it is shuttering 597 "non-performing" locations as it takes steps to restructure its portfolio. The number of employees affected by the closings was not provided by the company, but a spokesman said Regis will offer job-placement opportunities to many workers at other Regis Corp. salons.

The company also did not disclose how many salons in Arkansas Wal-Mart stores are being closed. About 2,000 SmartStyle salons will remain in Wal-Mart stores after the closings, according to the company.

Companies lease space inside Wal-Mart stores to offer hair care, dining and other services. Wal-Mart on Monday did not discuss plans for spaces occupied by the 600 salons to close.

-- Robbie Neiswanger

Ag Hall of Fame adds 6 members March 2

The Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame will induct six members on March 2 during its annual luncheon, the Arkansas Farm Bureau said Monday.

The inductees this year are Ford Baldwin of Austin (Lonoke County), a consultant and retired weed scientist; Bill Bridgforth, a Pine Bluff lawyer; Lew Brinkley, a retired agriculture professor at Arkansas State University; John Clark, a noted fruit breeder and professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Peggy Clark of Arkadelphia, owner and manager of Clark Timberlands in Arkadelphia; and the late Adam McClung of Vilonia, a cattle farmer and executive vice president for eight years of the Arkansas Cattlemen's Association.

The awards luncheon is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. March 2 at the Embassy Suites hotel in Little Rock.

"This is a wonderful class of inductees," Butch Calhoun, chairman of the hall, said in the news release. "The broad reach of these six individuals has been felt in every corner of Arkansas."

The hall has inducted 58 members since its inaugural class of 1987.

-- Stephen Steed

State index up 6.66 as market holds fast

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed at 416.42, up 6.66 Monday.

"U.S. stocks finished mostly flat after last week's strong rally as stocks tied to economic growth outperformed more defensive ones," said Chris Harkins, managing director with Raymond James & Associates in Little Rock.

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

Business on 01/09/2018

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