Business
Chinese case reveals holes in Skype wall
BY PETER SVENSSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — A Canadian researcher has discovered that a Chinese version of eBay Inc.’s Skype communications software snoops on text chats that contain certain keywords, including “democracy.” The revelation is not only of interest to rights groups that monitor Internet censorship. The discovery also likely intrigues law enforcement and intelligence agencies in other countries, because they have been bothered by the growing use of Skype, which claims 338 million users across the world. - Monday, October 6, 2008
Prepaid calling cards ring up ills
BY JOELLE TESSLER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Rosalba Posada can cite a list of problems she has encountered trying to use prepaid calling cards to stay in touch with family back in Colombia. - Monday, October 6, 2008
Firm goes with flow in search for energy from oceans’ waves
BY SANDY BAUERS THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
PHILADELPHIA — Five miles off the southern tip of New Jersey’s Long Beach Island, an oversized yellow buoy floats alone, purposefully mounting the waves and occasionally phoning home. - Monday, October 6, 2008
Outsider honing Microsoft’s competitive edge
BY DINA BASS BLOOMBERG NEWS
Microsoft Corp.’s operations chief took it personally when one of the company’s biggest accounts was threatened by Google Inc. - Monday, October 6, 2008
TECH SPOTLIGHT : Apple’s reworked music players all good, but redesigned Nano a joy to hold (and shake)
MELISSA L. JONES
Just when I thought it was safe to leave the music world behind, three music players showed up. - Monday, October 6, 2008
ON COMPUTERS : Online service will track where the money goes
BOB AND JOY SCHWABACH
Thomas Jefferson was so good at keeping track of his expenses that we still have records of almost everything he spent, including the tips he gave out at inns. (George Washington, by the way, was also a meticulous recorder of his expenses.) Expense tracking isn’t a magic solution to budgetary woes, but it helps. Jefferson was an acknowledged spendthrift, for example, with an immense wine collection and a taste for fashionable clothes. He was often out of cash and would sometimes borrow money from his slaves, keeping track of every penny, of course, and the date he paid it back. - Monday, October 6, 2008
Arkansas’ economic indicators
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Arkansas River barge traffic Tons of freight hauled Aug. 1,188,275 July 1,199,247 June 1,001,519 May 916,935 Aug. 2007 1,195,445 Year 2007 12,384,698 (–12 %) Construction contracts In millions Arkansas RESIDENTIAL Aug. $98.2 July $123.9 June $149.1 May $131.7 Aug. 2007 $197.3 NONRESIDENTIAL Aug. $113.5 July $103.1 June $90.4 May $446.0 Aug. 2007 $178.6 Pulaski, Saline, Faulkner Lonoke, Grant and Perry counties RESIDENTIAL Aug. $33.1 July $39.9 June $67.4 May $45.0 Aug. 2007 $95.2 NONRESIDENTIAL Aug. $19.0 July $30.6 June $39.6 May $21.9 Aug. 2007 $111.1 Consumer price index U.S., percent change Aug –0.1 July +0.8 June +1.1 May +0.6 2007 inflation rate 4.1% Gasoline prices Pump price per gallon for regular gasoline in Little Rock area Sept. 29-Oct. 3 $3.57 Sept. 22-26 $3.72 Sept. 15-19 $3.89 Sept. 8-12 $3.59 One year ago $2.72 Tax per gallon Federal 18.4 cents State 21.5 cents Hotel and prepared food tax receipts LITTLE ROCK July $888,631.81 June $919,428.73 May $883,985.38 April $937,392.84 July 2007 $885,058 - Monday, October 6, 2008
Credit crunch puts brakes on easy car loans
BY MIKE SPECTOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The era of easy auto loans has come skidding to a halt. - Sunday, October 5, 2008
States’ revenue seen falling behind Medicaid long-term-care costs
BY TOBY MANTHEY
Long-term-care costs for state Medicaid programs are expected to grow faster than overall health spending and states’ revenues in the next 20 years, according to a report by the health insurance industry. “States will have a difficult time paying for both Medicaid and other priority areas such as education, criminal justice and transportation,” Daniel I. Shostak, a co-author of the report, said in a call with reporters last week. - Sunday, October 5, 2008
Retailer-based clinics rare in state
BY STEVE PAINTER
ROGERS — Inside the Wal-Mart Supercenter in south Rogers, the staff at the RediClinic at the front of the store is preparing for the flu season — shots for the well, treatment for the sick — after finishing up the busy back-toschool sports physical examinations season. - Sunday, October 5, 2008
Depression offers lessons for dealing with new crisis
BY ADAM GELLER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
They are the stories that Americans heard from their grandparents and the pictures seen in history books — bread lines stretching around street corners, shantytowns sheltering the unemployed, smalltown banks with darkened windows. - Sunday, October 5, 2008
Money sent back home by Mexicans in U.S. drops 12% in August
BY TRACI CARL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — Mexicans living in the United States sent home 12 percent less money in August, the largest drop on record since the Bank of Mexico began tracking remittances 12 years ago, the central bank reported Wednesday. - Sunday, October 5, 2008
Report: 90% of nursing homes faulted
BY ROBERT PEAR THE NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON — More than 90 percent of nursing homes were cited for violations of federal health and safety standards last year, and for-profit homes were more likely to have problems than other types of nursing homes, federal investigators said in a report issued Monday. - Sunday, October 5, 2008
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS BUSINESS DATA
WARRANTY DEEDS Benton County Recorded Sept. 15-19 Slone-Hanna LLC to Sam’s West Inc., Lot 5, Superior Square Addition, Bentonville, $25,216,000 signed Sept. 16. M. David Slone, Ramah Sue Slone and Avis Auto Property LLC to Sam’s West Inc., Lots 1-3 and 8-10, Superior Square Addition, Bentonville, $4,684,000, signed Sept. 16. United Bank to Fayetteville Real Estate and Development LLC, part of the N.E. 1/4 of the N.W. 1/4, Section 29, T-18-N, R-33-W, and part of the N.W. 1/4 of the S.W. 1/4, Section 24, T-18-N, R-32-W, Benton County, $1,068,000, signed Sept. 19. Assembled Products Corp. to EM Rental Properties LLC, part of the S. 1/2 of the N.E. 1/4, Section 20, T-20-N, R-29-W, Avoca, $1,000,000, signed Sept. 17. Walter Gray Real Estates Associates Ltd. to Jon L. Rakestraw and Cheryl D. Rakestraw, dba Tower BBQ, part of the S.E. 1/4 of the N.E. 1/4, Section 5, T-17-N, R-33-W, Siloam Springs, $900,000, signed Sept. 19. Seventy Two Canopy Meadows LLC to Effie L. Ross, Thomas E. Smith, Christine D. Horwart and th - Sunday, October 5, 2008
OIL & GAS REPORT
The Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission last week issued 14 drilling permits and seven well completions in Northwest Arkansas. By county, they were: Drilling permits LOGAN — XTO Energy Inc. for Williams “KK” 7-3 to 7,500 ft. in Borum Form. of B-44 Fld. Loc. 2,700 FSL & 600 FEL of Sec. 3-6 N-28 W. Contractor : Union Drilling Co.; work begins Nov. 1. - Sunday, October 5, 2008
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Family Dollar Store DESCRIPTION: 9,180-square-foot retail building CAPITAL INVESTMENT: $798,660* LOCATION: 2601 E. Robinson Ave., Springdale TIMELINE: Unavailable OWNER: Family Dollar Stores Inc. CONTRACTOR: Ricon of Arkansas *Source: City of Springdale building permit - Sunday, October 5, 2008
NEW BUSINESS SP OTLIGHT : Camp Bow Wow
BY SUE MORRIS
BENTONVILLE — Dog lovers can view their pets playing via 14 live Web cameras at Camp Bow Wow. Some watch every day as the owners come to pick up their dogs or throughout the day. - Sunday, October 5, 2008
BUSINESS GALLERY
Gary Dennis has been named director of public safety at Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville. He was most recently an instructor at the Arkansas Department of Correction Training Academy, where he taught basic and management-level classes and served as the department’s law enforcement coordinator. Dennis is a field training officer, and an instructor in CPR, National Incident Management System and firearms. He has a senior law enforcement certificate and a master of science degree in criminal justice administration from the University of Alabama. The Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility honored 26 executives from across the nation, including Adriana Wilhelm, a lead programmer analyst for Tyson Foods Inc. in Fayetteville. The second annual Young Hispanic Corporate Achievers program recognizes corporate leadership and commitment to the Hispanic community among Fortune 500 companies. The native of Medellin, Colombia, is the project and team leader of a computer-based business intellige - Sunday, October 5, 2008
CALENDAR
Bentonville The Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce will hold a Business Before Hours networking event from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Thursday at Java on the Square, 102 E. Main St. - Sunday, October 5, 2008
U.S. PATENTS
Issued to Arkansans SEPT. 30 Patent 7,429,697 B2. Rice Cultivar “Spring.” Issued to Karen A.K. Moldenhauer and Fleet N. Lee, both of Stuttgart. Assigned to the board of trustees of the University of Arkansas. - Sunday, October 5, 2008
Credit markets tight after bailout OK
BY MADLEN READ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The stranglehold on the credit markets remained tight Friday after the House approved a revised $700 billion financial bailout, with investors still dubious about the plan’s ability to boost the faltering U.S. economy. - Saturday, October 4, 2008
Health system to trim 61 jobs
BY LAURIE WHALEN
Mercy Health System of Northwest Arkansas said Friday that it will eliminate its outpatient therapy services as part of an action that affects 61 positions. - Saturday, October 4, 2008
Wells Fargo, Citigroup fighting for Wachovia; FDIC reviewing offers
BY SARA LEPRO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — A battle broke out Friday for control of Wachovia, as Wells Fargo agreed to pay $15.1 billion for the struggling bank, while Citigroup and federal regulators insisted that Citi’s earlier and lower-priced takeover offer go forward. - Saturday, October 4, 2008
Crisis puts FDIC chief front, center
BY ALISON FITZGERALD AND ALISON VEKSHIN BLOOMBERG NEWS
When Sheila Bair took over as head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in 2006, the agency was probably better known for the “FDIC” logo on the doors of the nation’s banks than for anything it did. - Saturday, October 4, 2008
Insurer to sell life, retirement units in U.S., abroad to repay loan
BY HUGH SON BLOOMBERG NEWS
American International Group Inc., the insurer forced to peddle businesses to repay an $85 billion government loan, will sell its life insurance and retirement operations in the U.S., Europe, Latin America and Japan. - Saturday, October 4, 2008
MARKET REPORT : Stocks tumble after bailout passes
BY TIM PARADIS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Wall Street ended an intensely volatile week with another sell-off Friday, and credit markets remained strained after enthusiasm over the government’s $700 billion financial rescue plan gave way to worries about obstacles still facing the economy. - Saturday, October 4, 2008
FDIC plans to raise cost to banks
BY ERIC DASH THE NEW YORK TIMES
When banks were flush, most of them paid nothing for a golden government guarantee. Bank failures were so rare that, for a decade, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. waived most of the premiums it normally would have collected to insure bank deposits. - Friday, October 3, 2008
Europe holds interest rates steady, despite crisis
BY MATT MOORE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FRANKFURT, Germany — The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday, even as bank President Jean-Claude Trichet warned of slowing growth amid high inflation and the spreading financial crisis. - Friday, October 3, 2008
Paris auto show opens under a cloud
BY EMMA VANDORE AND GREG KELLER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS — The clouds of global economic turmoil cast a pall over the opening of the Paris Motor Show on Thursday. - Friday, October 3, 2008
Meeting with SEC to focus on audits
BY JESSE WESTBROOK BLOOMBERG NEWS
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox, facing pressure from banks and lawmakers to relax accounting rules blamed for exacerbating the financial crisis, plans to meet with chief executive officers of the largest audit firms today. - Friday, October 3, 2008
