News in brief

Wal-Mart division picks portfolio CEO

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s new investment arm, Store No 8, has hired Jenny Fleiss as the chief executive officer of its first portfolio company.

Fleiss will lead Code Eight, which will develop personalized, one-to-one shopping experiences, according to a blog post from Store No 8 principals Seth Beal and Katie Finnegan. Previously, Fleiss was the co-founder and head of business development for fashion rental company Rent the Runway. She announced her departure from the company last month.

That same week, Wal-Mart announced the creation of Store No 8, opening the Silicon Valley-based innovation hub to identify, invent and invest in ideas that will "transform the future of commerce."

The hub will operate as a stand-alone entity and focus on retail technology innovation in areas like robotics, virtual and augmented reality, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

-- Robbie Neiswanger

Mortgage servicers ordered to halt work

The Arkansas Securities Department has issued a cease-and-desist order against Ocwen Loan Servicing and Ocwen Mortgage Servicing.

The two firms were found to have engaged in practices in violation of the Arkansas Fair Mortgage Lending Act. The companies serviced more than 6,500 mortgage loans from Arkansas borrowers.

Ocwen Financial Corp. is based in West Palm Beach, Fla., and Ocwen Mortgage Servicing Co. is based in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The order issued Thursday prohibits the acquisition of mortgage servicing rights and the origination of mortgage loans until the firms prove they can appropriately manage their mortgage escrow accounts.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Ocwen Financial Corp. on Thursday, alleging the company engaged in "significant and systemic misconduct" that caused borrowers to lose their homes.

-- David Smith

Big day for P.A.M. helps propel index

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 4.16 to 346.19 Monday.

Thirteen stocks gained ground and five declined.

P.A.M. Transportation rose 7.1 percent on almost three times its average volume.

ArcBest rose 4.7 percent in below average trading.

Total volume for the index was 20.8 million shares.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business on 04/25/2017

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