Lakefront hotel set
to renovate, rebrand
The Clarion Resort on the Lake hotel in Hot Springs will close next month for a $20 million transformation into a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, the Clarion's owner said Monday.
"As of January 2019, the Clarion Resort on the Lake will close for a full head to toe renovation," said Rajesh Mehta, owner of the Clarion and Mehta Hospitality.
Renovations for the hotel on Lake Hamilton will include a reworked boat dock, a lakefront beach and a pool area along with cabanas, terraces and a seating area with a fire pit, Mehta said.
"Inside, world class design will embrace an all new restaurant and bar, 142 all new modern guest rooms, state of the art fitness center and reconfigured meeting space," Mehta said in a news release.
-- David Smith
Walmart ethics chief
prepares to depart
Walmart Inc.'s global ethics and compliance chief plans to leave the company Jan. 31. Jay Jorgensen was hired in 2012, soon after a federal investigation opened into allegations of bribery at Walmart's Mexican operations.
Rachel Brand, the Bentonville-based retailer's chief legal officer, said in a memo to employees Friday that Jorgensen was "ready to take on a new challenge."
Daniel Trujillo, a senior vice president and international chief ethics and compliance officer for Walmart, will replace Jorgensen, Brand said in the memo.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission began in 2012 to investigate claims that the retailer violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing Mexican officials to speed the opening of stores there.
Walmart reported possible violations in Mexico to the two agencies in November 2011. Investigators later found possible improper payments in Brazil and India. The retailer said in November 2017 that it would settle the case for $283 million, but the settlement has not yet been finalized.
-- Serenah McKay
State index gives up
3.72, ends at 369.26
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 3.72 to 369.26 Monday.
The index hit a 52-week low, trading at 367.78 during the day.
"Another rough day for U.S. stocks, as Wall Street's major indexes each slid more than 2 percent on Monday over concerns of slowing growth after a well-known money manager, DoubleLine Capital's Jeffrey Gundlach, suggested that we are in a bear market," 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 12/18/2018