September fliers up 8.6% at LR airport
Passenger traffic at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field rose more than 8.6 percent in September compared with the same month in 2017, according to the latest figures.
Passengers arriving or departing at the state's largest airport last month totaled 171,833, which was 13,620 more than moved through the airport in September a year ago.
For the year, passenger traffic is nearly 4.8 percent higher than for the same period in 2017.
In the first nine months of 2018, 1,583,303 passengers have gone through Clinton National. Last year at this time, 1,511,350 passengers had passed through the airport, a difference of 71,953.
Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport at Highfill saw its passenger traffic increase 9.73 percent in September. The 128,904 passengers who went through the airport was 11,181 more than the 117,723 passengers in September 2017.
Last month's totals left Northwest Arkansas Regional with 167,108 passengers in the first nine months of 2018, an 8.39 percent increase over the same period last year.
-- Noel Oman
Tyson moves closer to deal for Keystone
Brazil's National Bank for Economic and Social Development has approved Marfrig Global Foods S.A.'s plan to sell Keystone Foods to Tyson Foods in a $2.16 billion deal, Marfrig said Monday.
Marco Antonio Spada, Marfrig chief financial and investor relations officer, said other approvals are still needed for the sale's completion.
After months of deliberation and rumors from news outlets, Springdale's Tyson agreed in August to purchase Keystone from Marfrig. The all-cash acquisition expands Tyson's domestic production and global reach into Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Tyson officials have said the deal should close in mid-fiscal 2019.
Tom Hayes, Tyson's former president and chief executive officer, said at the Global Consumer Conference in September that he didn't see any resistance over the pending deal.
"They are excited about the prospects of us becoming a larger partner internationally," Hayes said.
-- Nathan Owens
Index surges 8.57; 13 state stocks gain
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 8.57 to 435.77 Tuesday.
Thirteen members rose and two fell. Windstream shares rose 6.86 percent. Murphy Oil Corp. shares fell 0.51 percent.
The index has increased 7.31 percent this year.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 10/17/2018