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Hewlett-Packard locates operations in Conway Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 By Roby Brock Hewlett-Packard Co., one of the world's leading information technology companies, selected Conway for a new $28 million customer service and technical support center that will employ up to 1,200 workers with an estimated annual payroll of $50 million. Based on state incentive data, average starting salaries will likely be in the low-$40,000 range, but some sales jobs could pay six-figure incomes. The 1,200 IT jobs will be phased in over a four-year period starting in 2009. HP also announced Thursday it would build a similar center in Rio Rancho, N.M., near Albuquerque. HP said the Arkansas and New Mexico operations are designed to meet its growing customer requirements, and that the center will provide "sales, service and technical support" for customers. Officials break ground on Paragould plant expansion On Friday, Governor Mike Beebe broke ground on a $40 million expansion of the Anchor Packaging plant in Paragould, which plans to add 120 new jobs. Anchor, headquartered in St. Louis, specializes in packaging for the restaurant, supermarket and food processing industry. Wal-Mart lowers capital spending forecast Speaking at a Chicago analyst conference, Wal-Mart Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe said Wal-Mart expects capital expenditures for the company to fall within a range of $13 to $14 billion for fiscal year 2009. Previously, the retail giant has estimated capital spending in the $13.5 to $15.2 billion range. The slowdown in infrastructure spending has helped Wal-Mart improve its cash flow and profitability, as many analysts felt that over-development had led to its fiscal problems nearly two years ago. Two banks reach agreement with feds The federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reached formal agreements with Little Rock-based Metropolitan National Bank and Springdale-based Legacy National Bank that require the banks to improve their capital holdings and clean up problem loans. The actions, made public Monday, followed just few weeks after federal regulators closed down Rogers-based ANB Financial for financial problems resulting from too many bad loans. The agreement signed between the OCC and Metropolitan National Bank said regulators found "unsafe and unsound banking practices relating to some aspects of credit risk management and capital adequacy." The bank was ordered to take a more aggressive role in identifying and collecting problem loans totaling more than $47.4 million at the end of the first quarter. Legacy National Bank's formal agreement with the OCC centers on problem loans, although the order did not specify that it found any unsafe or unsound practices. The bank was told to re-evaluate its loans, and all loans above $500,000 must be reviewed monthly. Dynamic Fuels closes on $100 million funding Dynamic Fuels LLC, the $160 million alternative fuel joint venture between Tyson Foods and Syntroleum Corp., received final approval for $100 million from the Louisiana State Bond Commission. The money will be used to build a renewable fuels plant in Geismar, La., near Baton Rouge. Syntroleum officials said the bond approval enables the partners to maintain their project schedule with plant completion slated for early 2010. Dynamic Fuels will convert low-grade inedible fats and greases into renewable synthetic diesel, jet and military fuel. State jobless rates jump to 5.1 percent Arkansas' unemployment rate rose four-tenths of a percent in May to 5.1 percent. One year ago, the state's jobless rate stood at 5.4 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate grew five-tenths of a percentage point, reaching 5.5 percent. P.A.M. Transportation starts stock buyback After tumbling to a one-year trading low, P.A.M. Transportation Services announced that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 300,000 shares of the company's common stock during the next 12 months. Under the stock repurchase program, shares may be purchased in open market or privately negotiated transactions, subject to market conditions, share price and other considerations. Deltic Timber board declares dividend The board of directors of Deltic Timber Corp. announced a quarterly dividend of 7.5 cents per share on the company's common stock. The El Dorado-based timber and real estate firm will pay the dividend on Sept. 15 to stockholders of record as of Sept. 2. ------- Roby Brock, a freelance journalist based in Little Rock, writes weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau. His weekly television program airs at 10 p.m. Sundays in Central and Northwest Arkansas. His e-mail address is roby@talkbusiness.net; his Web site address is www.talkbusiness.net. |
