LR port works most barges in 5 years
The Port of Little Rock worked 60 barges in April, the highest monthly total for the Arkansas River port in five years.
That brings the total to 140 barges the port has worked in the first quarter of 2018, a pace that puts it ahead of the first four months of last year, when it handled 133 barges.
The amount of cargo handled similarly rose, according to Bryan Day, the executive director of the Little Rock Port Authority.
Last month, the port handled 91,500 tons of cargo, bringing to 124,000 tons in cargo the port handled in the first quarter. In the same period in 2017, the port handled 110,000 tons.
Part of the increase is because the river was too high and running too fast for barges to be moved in March and April, which coincided with a period of heavy rainfall, Day said. The port worked 27 barges in March and 26 barges in February.
A strong economy highlighted by low unemployment, more business investment and, thanks to U.S. steel tariffs, increased domestic steel production also were factors, which is why port activity is expected to remain strong in the coming months, he said.
"All combined, it's giving us a high volume of river traffic," Day said.
-- Noel Oman
Investor urges sale of Sears divisions
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Sears is considering selling its popular Kenmore appliance brand and two other divisions after the hedge fund run by Chief Executive Officer Edward S. Lampert expressed interest in buying them and breaking up the company.
Sears' board is exploring the sale of Kenmore, the home improvement business of the Sears Home Services Division, and the Parts Direct business of Sears Home Services, the retailer said Monday.
Sears Holdings Corp. has been exploring alternatives for those businesses -- as well as the Craftsman tools and DieHard battery brands -- for nearly two years, saying it believes they have room to grow by expanding their reach beyond Sears. But after failing to find a buyer for assets other than Craftsman, Lampert's ESL Investments told Sears in a letter last month it should "aggressively pursue divestiture" of all or some of those businesses.
ESL had also offered to buy certain Sears real estate assets, including debt, and continue to lease the properties to Sears or other entities.
-- Tribune News Service
Utah paper lays off third of newsroom
SALT LAKE CITY -- The Salt Lake Tribune is laying off one-third of its staff two years after a wealthy Utah family purchased the newspaper.
The Tribune reports that 34 of the newsroom's 90 employees were informed Monday they were being let go. Owner and publisher Paul Huntsman told the staff last week that layoffs were coming because of declining advertising revenues and shrinking circulation. The newspaper is also cutting back on news sections in its print editions.
The cuts are the fourth round of layoffs since 2011, but the first under Huntsman's ownership. The newsroom was enjoying increased stability under Huntsman and won a Pulitzer Prize last year, after dealing with staff reductions and fearing closure under the previous owner, New York-based Digital First Media.
-- The Associated Press
Xerox ends deal to merge with Fujifilm
NEW YORK -- Copier company Xerox Corp. said Sunday it was ending an agreement to combine with Japan's Fujifilm Holdings and is entering a settlement deal with investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason. Fujifilm opposed the move.
The two companies had announced earlier this year that Fuji Xerox, their 56-year-old joint venture, would combine with Xerox, with Fujifilm Holdings taking a 50.1 percent stake in the newly formed company, New Fuji Xerox. The deal was meant to be part of a restructuring that, along with other changes, would save the companies an estimated $1.7 billion a year by 2022.
But Norwalk, Conn.-based Xerox said the deal was being terminated because of Fujifilm's failure to negotiate on improved terms.
"Over the past several weeks, the Xerox Board has repeatedly requested that Fujifilm immediately enter into negotiations on improved terms for a proposed transaction. Despite our insistence, Fujifilm provided no assurance that it will do so within an acceptable timeframe," Xerox's former board said in a statement.
In Tokyo, Fujifilm said Monday that Xerox has no right to withdraw from the agreement and urged the company to hold a shareholders' meeting. It was considering legal action seeking damages, it said.
"Fujifilm disputes Xerox's unilateral decision to terminate the transaction," it said in a statement.
-- The Associated Press
Canadian pot firms OK $2.3B takeover
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Consolidation in Canada's nascent marijuana industry is heating up, with two of the largest players agreeing to the biggest merger seen so far in the sector.
Aurora Cannabis agreed to buy rival MedReleaf for about $2.3 billion in stock, the companies said Monday in a statement. The deal will create a producer with the capacity to grow 1.26 million pounds a year of cannabis at nine facilities in Canada and two in Denmark. The merged company will also have distribution networks at home as well as in Europe, South America and Australia.
Canadian marijuana growers are racing to gain market share as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pushes to legalize recreational use this year. Aurora is leading the effort to consolidate the industry, having acquired more than 10 targets in the past two years.
Chief Corporate Officer Cam Battley said Aurora's goal is to "become nothing less than the world's largest cannabis company." Aurora sees particular growth opportunities in the European Union.
In another Canadian deal announced Monday, Canopy Growth Corp. said it agreed to buy the 33 percent stake in greenhouse operator BC Tweed Joint Venture Inc. that it doesn't already own. Canopy said separately it plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange.
-- Bloomberg News
Business on 05/15/2018