Bank of America set to leave downtown
Bank of America, a longtime fixture in downtown Little Rock, is packing up and moving west in October.
The bank announced Friday it will consolidate local operations and relocate to Cypress Plaza at 2200 N. Rodney Parham Road. Bank officials said the new location will allow employees from the lender’s business, commercial and private banking departments to work alongside the firm’s Merrill employees.
Bank of America does not own the Little Rock building at 200 W. Capitol Avenue and decided last year not to renew its lease. As part of the move, which is expected to be completed by October, the building will no longer have Bank of America branding on it.
Though moving from downtown, the bank said it remains committed to the state.
“We have served clients and communities across Arkansas for more than 130 years and we will continue to do so, building on the more than $4 million in grants we have funded in the past five years to organizations that include nonprofits and the arts to advance the state’s economic mobility,” said Heather Albright, the bank’s market president of Arkansas.
— Andrew Moreau
Tyson arm selects 6 firms for mentoring
The venture capital arm of Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc. has selected six companies to mentor and offer partnership opportunities after its first ever demo day for sustainability entrepreneurs, according to a recent release.
Tyson Ventures selected AgThera, BioIonix, Inc., FR8relay, Grain4Grain, Tangible Robotics and Vanguard Renewables from a field of 20 at its Tyson Demo Day. Over 120 companies from 23 countries applied to participate.
“This effort is surfacing the best and brightest innovations to tackle complex industry challenges,” John R. Tyson, executive vice president, and chief sustainability officer of Tyson Foods, said in a statement. “We’re excited about the promise each startup brings to create a comprehensive approach to sustainable food production.”
The startups developed solutions dealing with greenhouse gas emission reduction, reducing food waste, animal welfare, regenerative agriculture, packaging, soil health, water management, and other challenges. Since 2016, Tyson Ventures has invested more than $100 million in startups and other companies.
— John Magsam
Index left at 757.08after day’s 3.56 loss
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Friday at 757.08, down 3.56.
Shares of Dillard’s Inc. fell 2.4% Friday, but rose 11.6% this week. America’s Car-Mart ended the week up 11.5%. Murphy USA shares fell 1.6% for the week.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Source: arkansasonline.com
