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State ports receive funds worth $4.6M The Arkansas Waterways Commission has awarded four Arkansas ports and one intermodal authority with $4.6 million grant funding for capital improvements and dredging work, Gov. Sarah Sanders' office said Thursday. The Fort Smith Port Authority received the largest share of the funding, $1.98 million, to build a warehouse, a storage pad and signs. The Osceola Port Authority received just over $1.3 million to build retaining walls to protect against bank erosion. Other awardees include the Central Arkansas Intermodal Authority, the Little Rock Port Authority and the Chicot-Desha Port Authority. The grants are funded through ad valorem taxes paid on commodities shipped on Arkansas' rivers, according to a news release. Arkansas has five navigable waterways, of which the Arkansas River is the most economically impactful, according to a study from the commission. In total, the waterways support 40,000 jobs and generate an estimated $5.5 billion in annual revenue for the state economy. -- Lucas Dufalla Comcast sees slump in shares, customers Comcast Corp. shares fell Thursday after the cable and media company reported its 10th straight quarter of losses in broadband customers and said it doesn't expect the trend to turn around in the near future. Philadelphia-based Comcast shed 104,000 net broadband subscribers in the third quarter, though that was fewer than the loss of 140,000 predicted by analysts. In the connectivity unit that includes broadband, Comcast's biggest by far, revenue fell 1.4% and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization declined 3.7%. "The broadband environment remains intensely competitive, which we do not expect to change anytime soon," Co-Chief Executive Officer Mike Cavanagh said Thursday on a call with investors. The shares slid 4.3% to close at $27.31 Comcast's internet and cable-TV businesses have been under pressure as customers cut the cord in favor of streaming services and flock to fiber and 5G home internet plans offered by Verizon Communications Inc., T-Mobile US Inc. and AT&T Inc. -- Bloomberg News (WPNS) Arkansas Index falls by 28.25, hits 911.57 The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Thursday at 911.57, down 28.25 points. "Equities closed lower for a second consecutive day despite an agreement between the U.S. and China to reduce tariffs as weakness in the technology sector spread on concerns over capital spending related to AI investment," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
