During this five years and five months period of time from March 6, 2009 through August 15, 2014, Democrat Mark Pryor was an Arkansas US Senator and the Democrats controlled the US Senate.
I found 16 Companies Headquartered in Arkansas in Google or Yahoo's superb Finance websites with current Total Stock Market Capitalizations of at least $100 mil and which also had their common stocks trading on each of the following three dates:
- On December 31, 2007 during President Bush's second term.....before the 2008 financial meltdown
- On March 6, 2009, which was the lowest point for the US stock market due to the spillover effects resulting from the 2008 financial meltdown
- and also on the most recent date August 15, 2014
These 16 Arkansas Companies had their equally-company-weighted average stock market prices decline by a huge 39% from December 31, 2007 during President Bush's second term to March 6, 2009, which was the very lowest point for the overall stock market due to the spillover effects resulting from the disastrous 2008 Financial Meltdown.
But in the five years and five months since March 6, 2009 through August 15, 2014, when the very effective Mark Pryor was an Arkansas US Senator and also when the Democrats controlled the US Senate, the equally-company-weighted average stock market prices of these same 16 Arkansas Companies have increased by a spectacular 441%.....and all 16 Arkansas Companies experienced stock market price increases with the lowest one being a very respectable 41%.
Thus in the six years and seven months from December 31, 2007 before the 2008 financial meltdown to the most recent date August 15, 2014, the equally-company-weighted average stock market prices of these same 16 Arkansas Companies have increased by an extremely impressive 119%...... yeah, they have not just recouped the massive amount they lost with the disastrous 2008 financial meltdown, but also added another 119%.
Below here are the stock market prices of each of these 16 Arkansas Companies on August 15, 2014, on March 6, 2009, and on December 31, 2007, along with the related Stock Market Price Percentage Changes:
| Market | Market | Market | ||||||
| Price | Price | Price | ||||||
| % | % | % | ||||||
| Change | Change | Change | ||||||
| Market | Market | Market | 3-6-09 | 12-31-07 | 12-31-07 | |||
| Price | Price | Price | to | to | to | |||
| Arkansas Company | HQs | 8-15-14 | 3-6-09 | 12-31-07 | 8-15-14 | 3-6-09 | 8-15-14 | |
| $s | $s | $s | PRYOR | |||||
| Dillard's | Little Rock | AR | 106.11 | 3.19 | 18.78 | 3226% | -83% | 465% |
| P.A.M. Transportation Services | Tontitown | AR | 37.50 | 2.97 | 15.54 | 1163% | -81% | 141% |
| Bank of the Ozarks | Little Rock | AR | 30.80 | 4.26 | 6.55 | 623% | -35% | 370% |
| Tyson Foods | Springdale | AR | 37.39 | 7.98 | 15.33 | 369% | -48% | 144% |
| Home Bancshares | Conway | AR | 29.20 | 6.82 | 8.83 | 328% | -23% | 231% |
| JB Hunt Transport Services | Lowell | AR | 75.57 | 18.63 | 27.55 | 306% | -32% | 174% |
| America's Car-Market | Bentonville | AR | 37.51 | 11.57 | 12.55 | 224% | -8% | 199% |
| Acxiom | Little Rock | AR | 17.78 | 7.20 | 11.73 | 147% | -39% | 52% |
| Deltic Timber | El Dorado | AR | 66.40 | 28.78 | 51.49 | 131% | -44% | 29% |
| Bear State Financial | Harrison | AR | 8.29 | 3.86 | 14.10 | 115% | -73% | -41% |
| ArcBest | Fort Smith | AR | 34.62 | 17.19 | 21.94 | 101% | -22% | 58% |
| Simmons First National | Pine Bluff | AR | 38.48 | 21.67 | 26.50 | 78% | -18% | 45% |
| Murphy Oil | El Dorado | AR | 60.46 | 34.59 | 73.22 | 75% | -53% | -17% |
| Windstream Holdings | Little Rock | AR | 11.36 | 6.57 | 13.02 | 73% | -50% | -13% |
| Wal-Mart Stores | Bentonville | AR | 73.90 | 48.91 | 47.53 | 51% | 3% | 55% |
| USA Truck | Van Buren | AR | 17.82 | 12.62 | 15.40 | 41% | -18% | 16% |
| Average % Change all 16 | 441% | -39% | 119% |
In like manner on the employment front, from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Arkansas's State unemployment rate increased from 5.1% in December 2007 to 7.7% in October 2009, which was the very lowest point for the US Labor Market due to the lagging spillover effects resulting from the disastrous 2008 Financial Meltdown. But in the four years and eight months since then, when Democratic Arkansas US Senator Mark Pryor was in office, the Arkansas State unemployment rate has declined from 7.7% in October 2009 to 6.2% in the most recently reported June 2014.
Arkansas Citizens must be pleased with both the very strong performance of all of their Arkansas Companies as well as the significant drop in the Arkansas Unemployment Rate, both occurring during the most recent roughly five years when Arkansas US Senator Mark Pryor was serving very effectively in the US Congress for the interests of his Arkansas constituents.
