Wal-Mart’s Walton family gives $300 million to college

The family behind the Wal-Mart empire gave $300 million to the University of Arkansas on Thursday, the largest gift ever to a public university in the United States.

The money, from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, will establish an undergraduate honors college and also go toward the university’s graduate school.

“What the Walton family has done today will improve life in Arkansas for generations to come, and we are grateful beyond words,” Chancellor John A. White said.

Sam Walton, who died in 1992, started Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart four decades ago. It is now the largest company in the world. Walton’s sons Rob and Jim are Arkansas alumni. Rob Walton is now Wal-Mart chairman.

Economy

Technical fluke clouds outlook on employment

Fewer Americans filed claims for unemployment insurance last week, but the layoffs picture continues to be clouded by a technical fluke that was a big factor in the prior week’s surge in claims.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new claims for jobless benefits dropped by a seasonally adjusted 55,000 to 438,000, for the work week ending April 6.

Even with the decline, a government analyst said the claims number continued to be inflated because of the fluke: Laid-off workers seeking to take advantage of a federal extension for benefits were required to submit new claims.

Congress recently passed legislation signed into law by President Bush that provided a 13-week extension of jobless benefits.

Agency report

Study puts economic loss from smoking at $7 a pack

Each pack of cigarettes sold in the United States costs the nation $7 in medical care and lost productivity, the government said Thursday.

The study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put the nation’s total cost of smoking at $3,391 a year for every smoker, or $157.7 billion. Health experts had previously estimated $96 billion.

Americans buy about 22 billion packs of cigarettes annually. The CDC study is the first to establish a per-pack cost to the nation.

The agency estimated the nation’s smoking-related medical costs at $3.45 per pack, and said job productivity lost because of premature death from smoking amounted to $3.73 per pack, for a total of $7.18. The average cost of a pack of cigarettes in 1999 was $2.92.

Topeka

Payless ShoeSource reports declining sales for month

Topeka-based Payless ShoeSource said Thursday same-store sales decreased by 1.8 percent in March.

“Our same-store sales performance for the month of March was disappointing,” Steven J. Douglass, Payless chairman and CEO, said. “Sales continued to be affected by the uncertain consumer economy.”

The lower-than-expected sales totals have caused the company to reduce its earnings estimate. The earnings estimate for the first quarter has been revised downward to $1 from $1.10 per diluted share. During the first quarter of 2001, the company earned $1.30 per share.