Best of Business 2008
We congratulate the winners of the fourth annual Arkansas Business Best of Business Awards! The winners and runners-up are listed on the following pages. More »
Argenta Internet Model Points The Way to Increased Access
Internet industry professionals detail the changes in the business model that may be vital to closing the digital divide. More »
CALS Should Buy Site (Letter to the Editor)
The Central Arkansas Library System ought to be able to decide what happens on its property, not developers. More »
Mountain Pine Struggling Two Years After Plant Shuts Down
Since Weyerhaeuser Co. closed its Mountain Pine mill in 2006, the town of 722 has been paralyzed. More »
Times Are Hard In the Woods
With shutdown of the housing market, the forest products sector is looking at an even tougher future next year. More »
Airport Motel Lands $2.6 Million Sale (Real Deals)
A look at important real estate transactions in central Arkansas for the week of Dec. 8, 2008. More »
Pre-sold Property Offers Confusing Sale Status
A home just recently constructed shows up retroactively as the largest home sale of 2007. More »
UPDATED: U.S. Lost 533,000 Jobs in November
A report from the U.S. Department of Labor says the U.S. lost 533,000 jobs in November, and the U.S. unemployment rate hit 6.7 percent. More »
Developers Plan $28 Million Hotel in North Little Rock
The New Argenta Fund announces plans for a $28 million hotel in North Little Rock's Argenta District, which would open in 2010. More »
Northwest Arkansas Residential Market Moving Toward Equilibrium
Sales of new and existing homes in Northwest Arkansas were down in the third quarter, but building activity was down even more, according to a study released Tuesday. More »
Five Of Six Arkansas Cities See Drop In Unemployment Rates
Arkansas' six metropolitan areas once again have shown better year-over-year employment statistics than the rest of the nation. More »
UPDATED: Little Rock Receives Four Bids on Ray Winder Field
The city of Little Rock on Monday received four bids to purchase its 3.82-acre portion of Ray Winder Field. More »
The Coleman Company Building New Bentonville Office
AK Enterprise of NWA recently purchased a building permit valued at $2.9 million to construct an office building in Bentonville. More »
Palm Jumeirah prices drop 40%
Property prices on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai have fallen as much as 40% since September, Reuters has reported. A four-bedroom villa is now selling for Dhs10m ($2.72m), down from Dhs15m in September. The man-made island was developed by government-owned Nakheel. More »
Omniyat cuts nearly 100 jobs
Dubai-based developer Omniyat has sacked nearly 100 employees over cash flow problems, Gulf News has reported, citing a source. However, a spokesperson for the developer issued a statement saying that the number is 'completely incorrect', adding that it 'is less than 100'. Meanwhile, the developer has postponed the launch of several projects until 'conditions can cope with them', said Alex Andarakis, the company's managing director of sales and marketing. More »
Dubai developer asks buyers to cover construction costs
Property developer MiNC has sent a letter to investors in its Prodigy 1 project in Jumeirah Village, Dubai, asking them for up to 88% extra capital up front to cover construction costs. The move comes as banks in the emirate curtail project financing, leaving some firms with no access to liquidity. 'We either sit and wait this out, or we need to find another solution,' MiNC's director of operations told AME Info. More »
GHC launches mega project in Morocco
The foundation stone of a $1.3bn real estate project was laid in Tangiers, Morocco on Monday. The mega project of the Kuwaiti Gulf Holding Company (GHC) is the fourth real estate project launched by a Gulf Company in Morocco in the past few years after Dubai's Emaar Properties, Sama Dubai and Qatar's Diyar. The project, which will be built on an area of 1.13 million square metres, comprises a residential part that includes palaces and residential units, as well as a clinic, a school, an equestrian centre and a retail complex of cafes, restaurants and shops. More »
Hydra Properties denies JV with Wall Investment
UAE-based Hydra Properties has issued a statement denying news reports of an alleged formation of a partnership or joint venture with Wall Investment & Real Estate Development, a Qatar-based real estate investment firm. Hydra Properties CEO Dr. Sulaiman Al Fahim met earlier with Dr. Nasser Shahir Homoud, the Qatari firm's CEO and UN Ambassador of Goodwill, to discuss initiatives to support a number of United Nations humanitarian programs. However, the meeting revolved around the said corporate social responsibility scheme and no agreement or alliance pertaining to conducting business or seizing investment opportunities in the region was forged with Wall Investment, the statement said. More »
Cranford's Grocery Chain Expands into Little Rock
Cranford's Fresh World grocery is expanding from its White Hall base into Little Rock. More »
Pyramid Arena in Memphis to Become Bass Pro Shops
The Shelby County Commission on Monday approved a development agreement that would turn the vacant, 32-story Pyramid arena into a Bass Pro Shops retail location. More »
Movers & Shakers for Nov. 17, 2008
A look at who's moving and mixing it up in Arkansas business for the week of Nov. 17, 2008. More »
New Grocer Picking Up Harvest Foods Locations
Cranford's Fresh World of White Hall has purchased two Harvest Foods locations in Little Rock. More »
Another Week, Another Northwest Ark. Developer Bankruptcy
This isn't a news flash, but another northwest Arkansas real estate developer has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. More »
Fayetteville Investor Falls for Foreclosure Scheme
A Fayetteville investor said he was burned to the tune of almost $380,000 when he invested in foreclosed properties through an Ohio company. More »
Liberty House set for occupancy
UAE-based ETA Star has said its Liberty House office and residential tower in Dubai International Financial Centre is in its final stages, set for residents to occupy the property by the end of December. The 41-storey property is situated on the DIFC's main thoroughfare, Gate Drive. More »