Arkansas Business articles from April 2006

Arkansas Business archives from April 2006

Colleagues feared Hutchinson's tax strategies; Virgin Islands residence, Moser's advice figured in split, memos show.
April 3, 2006... FOUR DIRECTORS WHO LEFT Hutchinsott/Ifrah Financial Services of Little Rock in January to set up a competing financial advisory firm were concerned about potential fallout from founder Eric Hutchinson's aggressive tax-avoidance strategies,...

Convergence battle heats up: AT&T, Comcast barreling into each other's traditional territory.
April 3, 2006... "COMPETITION BRINGS out the best in products and the worst in people," said the late David Sarnoff, a pioneer in the broadcast industry and RCA's longtime chief. Perhaps he envisioned the convergence wars that are beginning to take place....

Coke bottlers shaken by Wal-Mart's demand: warehouse delivery of Powerade seen as first assault on business plan.
April 3, 2006... LAST SUMMER WHEN Wal-Mart Stores Inc. suggested to the Coca-Cola Co. that it had a more efficient way to deliver its Powerade sports drink, independent Coca-Cola bottlers scoffed. Coca-Cola bottlers had been delivering Coke and the...

Supercenter shuffle.(Whispers)
April 3, 2006... Call us a broken record, but those rumblings about Wal-Mart in central Arkansas just won't quit. The latest, we hear, involves a new Supercenter on Maumelle Boulevard. The likely location would be near the Crystal Hill intersection, though...

Another bank in Cabot.(Whispers)
April 3, 2006... You know how easily amused your Whispers staff can be. Last week, First Arkansas Bank & Trust of Jacksonville filed an application with the Arkansas State Bank Department to open a fourth branch in Cabot. Assuming it's approved--a safe...

Night and day.(plans of Larry Wilson of First Arkansas Bank and Trust )(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Larry Wilson says the Jacksonville and Cabot markets are as different as night and day and his bank's decision to expand in an existing market is completely different from Bank of the Ozarks' desire to enter a new market. "Cabot is a...

More Shorter College woes.(Whispers)
April 3, 2006... Remember we recently told you about Shorter College getting sued by the folks at Comfort Inn & Suites over an unpaid bill? Well, the State of Arkansas recently filed tax liens against the tiny North Little Rock junior college. The...

Overton's car sale.(Whispers)
April 3, 2006... A couple of months before he was charged with eight counts of bank fraud and one count of check-kiting, but long after his financial troubles were a matter of public record, Warren Overton bought a $10,000 car from Bale Chevrolet in Little Rock...

Correction.(Correction notice)
April 3, 2006... The list of principals for Crafton Tull & Associates Inc. of Rogers that appeared in the Largest Engineering Firms list in the March 20 issue of Arkansas Business, was incorrect. The current principals of the firm are Tom Hopper, Matt Crafton,...

A minimum boost.(Editorial)
April 3, 2006... LAWMAKERS AND SUPPORTers of a proposed amendment to raise the minimum wage in Arkansas have reached an agreement that would put a measure to raise it to $6.25 from the current $5.15 before the General Assembly when a special session is called...

Missed the point.(LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
April 3, 2006... I just read the (editorial) in your paper (March 27), concerning the Cogswell case in Pope County. The writer missed the point or, at the least, emphasized the wrong point. The fact that Mr. Cogswell was paid nothing as a result of that...

Sweet home.(Conway Regional Health System)(Editorial)
April 3, 2006... I WAS BORN IN WHAT MY mother still calls the "new" Conway Memorial Hospital. That's because a new hospital had been built in the six and a half years since she had last given birth. I visited my birthplace a couple of weeks ago, and I wonder if...

Entergy ethics lacking.(Commentary)
April 3, 2006... ENTERGY ARKANSAS IS PURSUING a rate increase from its customers of 9.9 percent. Entergy Arkansas is one of a complex of companies, the parent of which is Entergy Corp. The use of the word "parent" is misleading, because the group of...

Jobs gains, loses reported in states.(Southwestern Energy Co., Lennox Industries Inc. opening new facilities)(Volex Power Products closing a facility)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Several companies with operations in Arkansas said last week that they will add production space and jobs. But one is shutting down. In Stuttgart, Lennox Industries said it will expand its plant, which makes commercial rooftop equipment and...

NWA nonfarm payroll is up 3.3 percent.(arkansas economic aspects)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Nonfarm payroll in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area increased 3.3 percent from 190,800 in September 2004 to 197,100 in September 2005, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Government jobs had the...

State unemployment rate reaches 4.7 percent.(Inside Business)
April 3, 2006... Arkansas' unemployment rate reached 4.7 percent in February; according to a report by the state Department of Workforce Services. The rate rose four-tenths of a percentage point from a revised rate of 4.3 percent in January. The U.S....

Alltel executive: company focusing on stock buybacks.(COMMUNICATIONS)
April 3, 2006... Alltel Corp.'s chief financial officer told analysts last week that the telecommunications firm will focus on stock buybacks rather than acquisitions, according to a story on CBS Mar-ketWatch. The story quotes Alltel's Sherilyn Gasaway as...

KGI to market Alltel's tower inventory.(Inside Business)
April 3, 2006... KGI of Austin, Texas, a wireless site marketing company, has signed an exclusive multiyear agreement with Alltel Corp. to provide nationwide tower marketing and licensing services for Alltel's 3,000 wireless towers. KGI said the deal marks...

Chenal's McCray to join Bank of the Ozarks.(BANKING & FINANCE)
April 3, 2006... A week after his retirement as president and COO of Chenal Properties was announced, Bank of the Ozarks announced that Jack McCray is joining the bank company as senior vice president for real estate acquisitions and development. In that...

Cost of driving up to 52.2 cents a mile.(estimated by AAA)
April 3, 2006... What does it really cost to keep to keep that SUV going all year? Or that new sedan you bought last year? AAA has released its 2006 Your Driving Costs, a detailed look at what Americans really spend while driving their cars each year. ...

Another bank reports counterfeit checks.(Inside Business)
April 3, 2006... About a week after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. warned that counterfeit cashier's checks bearing the name of the Bank of Eureka Springs were in circulation, the FDIC warned that another counterfeit check is making the rounds. The...

Taggart, Sims architectural firms announce merger.(Inside Business)
April 3, 2006... Two central Arkansas architecture firms have formally announced a merger. North Little Rock's Taggart Foster Currence Gray Architects Inc. and Little Rock's Sims Grisham Blair Architects EA. will now be known as Taggart Architects. "We're...

Per Capita Income in 2005.(Inside Business)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Per Capita Income in 2005 Per Capita % Change Income 2004-05 1 Connecticut 47,819 5.5 2 Massachusetts 44,289 5.0 3 New Jersey 43,771...

Rogers ropes conventions.(NW Journal: A Look at News From Northwest Arkansas)(Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... The Arkansas Governor's Conference on Tourism will be coming to Rogers in March 2008. Beth Stephens, vice president of marketing for the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce, said the conference should bring in 500 to 800 people. It's...

UAFS chancellor finalists announced.(NW Journal: A Look at News From Northwest Arkansas)
April 3, 2006... The committee searching for a new chancellor for the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith has narrowed the list of applicants from 86 to three. Dan Ferritor, chairman of the search committee and vice chancellor for academic affairs of the...

UA's KUAF goes high def.(NW Journal: A Look at News From Northwest Arkansas)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... National Public Radio station KUAF-FM, 91.3, started broadcasting a digital signal called "HD" (for high definition) in mid-November, the first station in northwest Arkansas to make the leap. But KUAF, which is operated by the University of...

Newport moving forward with $2.7 million rail project.(NE Journal: A Look at News From Northeast Arkansas)
April 3, 2006... The Newport Economic Development Commission recently agreed to buy a rail spur so it can move forward with a $2.7 million rail project. When the project is complete, it could bring an additional 190 jobs to the Jackson County Industrial...

Frito-Lay receives OK for $67 million in bonds.(NE Journal: A Look at News From Northeast Arkansas)
April 3, 2006... The city of Jonesboro recently approved an ordinance to issue $67 million worth of industrial development bonds for the Frito-Lay North America plant in Jonesboro. The money will be used to expand Frito-Lay's chip line and add 100 jobs. It...

Jonesboro's guard troop going to Iraq.(NE Journal: A Look at News From Northeast Arkansas)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Arkansas' Army National Guard unit stationed in Jonesboro received its orders to go to Iraq in the fall. The Army's National Guard 875th Engineer Battalion, 87th Troop Command, which has more than 400 soldiers in the battalion, also has...

$100 million mall opens in Jonesboro.(NE Journal: A Look at News From Northeast Arkansas)
April 3, 2006... The $100 million, 760,000-SF Mall at Turtle Creek in Jonesboro opened last week with more than 50 stores and designs on making the northeast Arkansas city that region's retail hub. The mall includes J.C. Penney and Target stores and a...

Tyson Foods Inc.(Business Briefs)
April 3, 2006... Tyson Foods Inc. escaped having to pay a $1.28 billion judgment last week as the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a 1996 case in which six cattlemen sued Tyson in Alabama, claiming the company conspired with some beef producers to fix...

Former Maumelle alderman Tom Formicola, 46, has filed as a Republican for the 2nd Congressional District seat held by Rep. Vic Snyder, a Democrat.(Business Briefs)
April 3, 2006... Former Maumelle alderman Tom Formicola, 46, has filed as a Republican for the 2nd Congressional District seat held by Rep. Vic Snyder, a Democrat. Formicola is a sales and operations manager for Medtronic Inc. He will face Andy Mayberry of East...

Cone Magie, 81, the longtime publisher of the Cabot Star-Herald and several other publications, died March 27 at Hot Springs.(Business Briefs)
April 3, 2006... Cone Magie, 81, the longtime publisher of the Cabot Star-Herald and several other publications, died March 27 at Hot Springs. A former president of the Arkansas Press Association, Magie's other newspapers included the Carlisle Independent, the...

Emerson Plywood, part of Weyerhaeuser Co.'s Veneer Technologies business, rang up 365 days without a recordable accident on March 22.(Business Briefs)
April 3, 2006... Emerson Plywood, part of Weyerhaeuser Co.'s Veneer Technologies business, rang up 365 days without a recordable accident on March 22. It was the first time the mill at Emerson, which employs more than 240 workers, achieved a year without an...

TruService Community Federal Credit Union of Little Rock, the oldest credit union in the state, celebrated its 75th annual meeting last month.(Business Briefs)
April 3, 2006... TruService Community Federal Credit Union of Little Rock, the oldest credit union in the state, celebrated its 75th annual meeting last month. Charlotte French, postmaster at Jacksonville, and Bill McLemore, retired manager of training for the...

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(Business Briefs)
April 3, 2006... Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is joining the movement to offer more organic products. As the world's largest retailer, its plans to double its organic grocery items could have a huge impact, affecting prices by forcing suppliers and competitors to keep...

The Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas, in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Northwest Arkansas Chambers of Commerce and the Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, will present a workshop titled "China Business 2006.".(Business Briefs)
April 3, 2006... The Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas, in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Northwest Arkansas Chambers of Commerce and the Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of...

Little Rock National Airport.(Business Briefs)
April 3, 2006... Runway 4-Right/22-Left, the commercial service runway east of the terminal at Little Rock National Airport, has been closed for construction of a 1,050-foot extension of the runway. The $8.7 million project is expected to be completed by...

The Greater Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce's Business Expo 2006 will be held May 4 at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.(Business Briefs)
April 3, 2006... The Greater Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce's Business Expo 2006 will be held May 4 at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. The sale of booth space for the event is now open to the public. Additional booth space is available in the more than...

John L. Ferguson.(Business Briefs)(obituary)(Obituary)
April 3, 2006... John L. Ferguson, who served as Arkansas' state historian for nearly 45 years before retiring last year, died March 25 at the age of 80. The Nashville (Howard County) native studied at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and earned a...

A report by the American Heart Association, American Lung Association and American Cancer Society shows a majority of Arkansans support a ban on smoking in the workplace.(Business Briefs)
April 3, 2006... A report by the American Heart Association, American Lung Association and American Cancer Society shows a majority of Arkansans support a ban on smoking in the workplace. Of the more than 500 registered voters surveyed, 65 percent support a...

Hendrix College at Conway is ranked as one of the nation's best value colleges, according to The Princeton Review, a New York-based education services company, in its 2007 edition of America's Best Value Colleges, published by Random House.(Business Briefs)
April 3, 2006... Hendrix College at Conway is ranked as one of the nation's best value colleges, according to The Princeton Review, a New York-based education services company, in its 2007 edition of America's Best Value Colleges, published by Random House....

Fort Smith builders avoid spec development.
April 3, 2006... IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY MIGHT not come. That's what Fort Smith developers care thinking when it comes to upscale spec houses. The city's struggling economy, along with the possibility of Beverly Enterprises leaving town, has builders shying...

Nature Conservancy targets SW Arkansas sites.
April 3, 2006... WITH ALL ITS 6.8 MILLION acres of timberland in the U.S. up for sale, including 690,000 acres in Arkansas, International Paper Co. struck a deal last week to sell The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund some 218,000 acres in the South...

Government, health care jobs on rise since 2005.(List Overview)
April 3, 2006... JUST WHEN IT LOOKED LIKE Arkansas' manufacturing industry had bottomed out, incremental job losses continue to eat away at the sector's overall employment numbers. There are currently some 197,200 Arkansans with manufacturing jobs, and...

Largest Arkansas employers.
April 3, 2006... Largest Arkansas Employers Ranked by employees in Arkansas Employer 2006 2005 Percent Address, Phone Employed Employed Change 1 Arkansas State Government 52,723...

Express Fitness.(New Businesses: A Listing of Business Start-Ups in Arkansas)
April 3, 2006... Owners: Dennis Washkowiak, Roger Barker and D.D. Nichols Address: 3309 Winchester Drive, Benton 72015 Phone: (501) 776-0001 Hours: members have 24-hour access; office hours are 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday...

EmbroidMe.(New Businesses: A Listing of Business Start-Ups in Arkansas)(company overview)(Company overview)
April 3, 2006... Owner: Mary Hearnes Address: 115 Audobon Drive, Suite 4, Maumelle 72113 Phone: (501) 851-3202 Hours: 10 a.m.-6p.m. Monday-Friday, by appointment Saturday Startup: May 2005 E-mail: embroidmestore@yahoo.com Web site:...

Calendar.(Calendar)
April 3, 2006... * 5--Little Rock Chamber of Commerce Technology Expo Sponsor: Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Location: Statehouse Convention Center, Little Rock For more information, call (501) 377-6016. *...

Bell Foster Bowman Fleming PA.(ACCOUNTING)
April 3, 2006... Lacey Mauk and Alan Gable joined Bell Foster Bowman Fleming PA of Little Rock as staff accountants.

Benny Webb was named Outstanding Employee of 2006 by the Arkansas Oil Marketers Association.(ENERGY)
April 3, 2006... Benny Webb was named Outstanding Employee of 2006 by the Arkansas Oil Marketers Association. Webb is vice president of terminal services for Truman Arnold Cos. and terminal manager for Arkansas Terminaling & Trading of Little Rock.

TME Inc.(ENGINEERING)
April 3, 2006... Gary A. Griffis was named an associate principal for TME Inc. of Little Rock.

Chambers Bank.(FINANCIAL SERVICES)
April 3, 2006... Josh Havner was promoted to assistant vice president of Chambers Bank of Danville. Havner joined the bank in 2002. Melanie Apple was promoted to vice president. Apple joined the bank five years ago.

Summit Bank.(FINANCIAL SERVICES)
April 3, 2006... Sue Wilson joined Summit Bank of Hot Springs as a senior vice president. Wilson previously was branch manager at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage of Hot Springs. Racquel Houston joined as a mortgage loan originator. Houston previously was a home...

Metropolitan National Bank.(FINANCIAL SERVICES)
April 3, 2006... Joe Crim joined Metropolitan National Bank of Jacksonville as vice president and commercial relationship manager.

Stewart L. Simmons, Hazen postmaster, received the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve's Above & Beyond Award, presented by the Arkansas Air National Guard, for his longtime support of a military employee.(GOVERNMENT)
April 3, 2006... Stewart L. Simmons, Hazen postmaster, received the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve's Above & Beyond Award, presented by the Arkansas Air National Guard, for his longtime support of a military employee. Simmons received the award for...

Air Evac Lifeteam.(HEALTH CARE)
April 3, 2006... Bruce Ford joined Air Evac Lifeteam of Vilonia as a flight paramedic. Ford previously served as a firefighter and paramedic in West Memphis.

Mitchell Blackstock Barnes Wagoner Ivers & Sneddon PLLC.(LEGAL)
April 3, 2006... Robert W. Wright, chief financial officer of the Arkansas Medicaid program, joined Mitchell Blackstock Barnes Wagoner Ivers & Sneddon PLLC of Little Rock as an in-house consultant on Medicaid matters.

Heathcott Associates.(MARKETING/MEDIA)
April 3, 2006... Alisa Cornelison joined Heathcott Associates of Little Rock as an account associate.

Marva Caldwell received the Victor Award presented by the Sales & Marketing Association of Arkansas for outstanding performance at Coldwell Banker Advantage Realty of Little Rock in 2005.(MARKETING/MEDIA)
April 3, 2006... Marva Caldwell received the Victor Award presented by the Sales & Marketing Association of Arkansas for outstanding performance at Coldwell Banker Advantage Realty of Little Rock in 2005. Keith Maddison received the Victor Award for his...

Dixie Real Estate LLC.(REAL ESTATE)
April 3, 2006... Whitley Dunn was promoted to president of Dixie Real Estate LLC of Fayetteville. Dunn previously served as vice president of commercial real estate and has been with the company for four years.

Stock summary.
April 3, 2006... STOCK SUMMARY Arkansas Public 3/30/06 Weekly YTD Company Stocks Close Change Change Acxiom Corp. (ACXM) 25.95 -1.33% 14.55% A.E.R.T. (AERTA) ...

Flip flop.(Outtakes: An Inside Look Into Arkansas Media)
April 3, 2006... After several consecutive ratings books that showed two stations nearly deadlocked at 10 p.m., the February Nielsen Media Research ratings still show no clear runaway in the coveted news slot. Though KATV-TV, Channel 7, did regain the lead...

Commercial factory.(Outtakes: An Inside Look Into Arkansas Media)
April 3, 2006... Many Arkansans remember Ron Sherman best from his days as a weatherman and morning show host on KATV-TV, Channel 7. * What people might not realize is that he's probably more recognizable nowadays in other markets across the country and in...

Family firms vulnerable to alt-min tax.(Family-Owned Businesses)
April 10, 2006... MOST SMALL AND FAMILY--owned businesses have elected "pass-through" corporate structures--LLCs, S corporations and the like--that make corporate profits taxable as personal income. And while those strategies still make plenty of sense, they...

Barber Group propels projects: in two years, development company has grown to 56 employees.(Brandon Barber of The Barber Group)(Interview)
April 10, 2006... ON SUNDAYS, BRANDON Barber likes to drive through The Barber Group's different residential and commercial projects. Most of the time, he's got his children riding in the back of the Land Rover and the area's top real estate agent, Keri Barber,...

Immigration opinions, approaches vary.(Family-Owned Businesses)
April 10, 2006... THE AMERICAN DREAM of owning a business that will support and employ one's family is alive and well--even in Mexico. Luis Lopez arrived in California illegally in the early 1990s. An employer helped him get legal status. By working seven...

Stop the press.(Whispers)
April 10, 2006... Surely you recall that it seemed to take forever for former NBA and University of Arkansas basketball star Sidney Moncrief to file the paperwork in his Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. Now we know why. Moncrief's attorney, John Lewis of...

Capital delay.(Capital Hotel renovation)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Looks like those of us interested in seeing what they've done to remodel downtown Little Rock's historic Capital Hotel might have to wait a little longer than expected. When the $1 million-plus renovation began last November, hotel...

Clete clips.(rumours about Clete Brewer of Edgewater Inc.)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... It seems that Clete Brewer had fallen off the edge of the Earth for a while. Brewer and his father, Jerry, founded StaffMark Inc., the staffing company in Favctteville that morphed into Edgewater Inc. of Wakefield, Mass. Clete Brewer was...

Steel sale-leaseback.(Whispers)
April 10, 2006... A 17-acre industrial property in east Little Rock changed hands in a $1.6 million sale-leaseback deal. OSC Little Rock LLC of Overland Park, Kan., bought the O'Neal Steel location at 8100 Frazier Pike from its namesake corporation based in...

On broadway.(Whispers)
April 10, 2006... A 10,000-SF building in downtown Little Rock is under new ownership after a $1.8 million deal. Leonal and Joanna Kilgore of Wichita, Kan., purchased the Broadway Animal Hospital at 906 Broadway. The seller is S&D Holdings LLC, led by...

Correction.(Correction notice)
April 10, 2006... Len Pitcock is the executive director for the Arkansas Cable Telecommunications Association. The association's name was reported incorrectly in the April 3 issue of Arkansas Business.

Big City goal.(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)(Editorial)
April 10, 2006... WAL-MART STORES INC. was built in small-town America, and despite its great success, it meets its greatest resistance in the large urban areas where there are a multitude of small local businesses and strong labor forces to fight its coming in....

Huffing and puffing.(smoking bans in restaurants)(Editorial)
April 10, 2006... WE'VE HEARD ALL THE arguments for a statewide ban of smoking in restaurants: it's a public health matter, an economic development matter, a matter of common sense. We don't like a side order of nicotine with our food any more than the next...

Delta optimism.(Publisher's Note)
April 10, 2006... AS A RELATIVELY NEW LEADER of the Delta Regional Authority, Rex Nelson has found a new passion. The former journalist, whose work history includes being the editor of this publication, ably served Gov. Mike Huckabee as communications...

Rates, hurricanes and integrity.(Commentary)
April 10, 2006... AFTER READING IAN VICKERY'S guest column last week about increased electric bills from Entergy Arkansas, it occurred to me that other Arkansans might have the same misunderstanding that Vickery does. I'm grateful for the opportunity here to...

IP sells 540,000 acres of forestland in Arkansas.(FORESTRY)
April 10, 2006... International Paper Co. of Stamford, Conn., has made deals with two separate investor groups to sell about 5.1 million acres of forestlands for about $6.1 billion. The deal includes 540,000 acres in Arkansas. The sale of forest lands is...

State revenue 5.9% ahead of projections.(Arkansas)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Arkansas' year-to-date net available general revenue reached $2.9 billion last month, up more than 7 percent than at this time last year and $168 million, or 5.9 percent, above forecast, according to report by the state Department of Finance &...

AERT annual income rises 149 percent.(Public Company Reports)
April 10, 2006... Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc. of Springdale said it had annual net income of $7.8 million for 2005. compared with $1.27 million in 2004. But of that $7.8 million, $46 million was a deferred tax asset that counted as...

USA Truck execs see bonus increases in 2005.(Public Company Reports)
April 10, 2006... Executives for USA Truck Inc. of Van Buren received bonus increases in 2005, according to the publicly traded trucking company's proxy report to the Securities & Exchange Commission. According to the report, Robert Powell, chairman of the...

Wal-Mart Stores March sales up slightly.(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported a 1.4 percent increase in same-store sales but said the late Easter holiday would likely provide a bigger boost to April numbers. Wal-Mart's monthly U.S. same-store sales rise came in only slightly better than...

Dillard's March sales decline 1 percent.(Public Company Reports)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Dillard's Inc. said sales for the five weeks ended April 1 were $632.6 million, compared with sales of $636.6 million for the same period last year. Total sales were off 1 percent. Sales in comparable stores were unchanged on a percentage basis...

DAC Technologies income up 17%.(DAC Technologies Group International Inc.)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... DAC Technologies Group International Inc., the Florida-based outsource company whose main distribution facility is in Little Rock, reported 2005 net income of $1.2 million, or 19 cents a share--a 17 percent increase when compared with $1...