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BOSTON - Waterman Road in Roslindale has 25 homes. It has two cemeteries. It also has one little boy with a story or two to tell. Eleven-year-old Joseph Zyber is a young newspaper publisher with a staff of two. "It's really just me and my mom," Joseph said with a smile. Joseph spends every Monday afternoon putting together the Waterman News. It's a single page newspaper with all the news "fit to print," as long as it's news about Waterman Road. "My mom told me to do something with my brain," Joseph said. Newspaper started as summer project Joseph, like most 11-year-olds, likes playing video games. His parents, like most parents, would prefer that he does something else. After all, Oxford Press' Word of the Year is "brain rot." So, this past summer, his mother gave him a project. "We told both of our sons to do something with their brain and something with their body and Joseph chose this for his project," his mom Elizabeth Perry said. So, you'll now see the little boy in his green froggy hat hopping all over town. "Thursdays are print and deliver day. Then on Friday, I play with my friends," Joseph said as he walked briskly toward the Roslindale Library where Joseph makes 30 copies of his latest edition. The library card gives him $20 worth of free printing per month. He prints in black and white to save money. "I've been doing this for like a couple months now," Joseph said. "I'm really proud of myself." Waterman News delivered to neighbors Thanks to his mom's challenge, Joseph is using his brain and using his legs. He walks house to house on Waterman Road stuffing his weekly paper into mailboxes. It's a one-page paper with recent articles about Porchfest, local grocery prices, a local road project and a replica of the future International Space Station recently on display at a nearby museum. The paper has puzzles and a word search too. "There was a garden tour that I did, that was kind of big," Joseph said. Joseph has an elderly neighbor named Phillip Anastasia who looks forward to him hand delivering the paper every week. It brings back memories of being a paperboy a long time ago. "At that age where could you make $3 a week or something," Anastasia said with a hearty laugh. Joseph doesn't earn a dollar. He gets paid in self-confidence. Those walks alone to the library teach him independence. And going door to door, is teaching him the value of knowing his neighbors. "My social skills have improved definitely," Joseph said. His neighbors, like Mo Pepin are getting more than headlines. "It has truly brought the neighborhood together," said Pepin, pointing out that Porchfest had more participants this year than ever before. Because of little Joseph Zyber, every mailbox on this road is stuffed with something.... extra. Extra. Read all about it. In the Waterman News. Multiple award-winning journalist David Wade co-anchors WBZ-TV News at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. with co-anchor Lisa Hughes and chief meteorologist Eric Fisher.None
CONWAY, Ark., Dec. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Home BancShares, Inc. HOMB ("Home" or "the Company"), and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Centennial Bank ("Centennial"), announced it has established additional reserves for loan losses as a result of Hurricane Milton. On October 11, 2024, HOMB announced a $16.7 million reserve as a result of Hurricane Helene, which made landfall September 26, 2024. Upon announcement HOMB indicated the more recent and powerful Hurricane Milton, which made landfall on October 9, 2024, and caused the spin-off of more than two dozen tornados, would likely lead to an increase in this reserve amount. "Out of an abundance of caution, HOMB has decided to make an additional $16.7 million reserve following the second Florida hurricane, bringing our total hurricane reserve to $33.4 million for the year," said John Allison, Chairman of HOMB. "The two hurricanes spanned across the third and fourth quarter and the amount of time it takes for customers to settle with insurance will no doubt increase, with two back-to-back events," continued Allison. "We have approximately $110 million currently on deferral as a result of the two hurricanes and in keeping with our conservative nature, we feel as though this proactive move is a prudent and predictable course of action," added Allison. Branches The Company currently has 76 branches in Arkansas, 78 branches in Florida, 58 branches in Texas, 5 branches in Alabama and one branch in New York City. About Home BancShares Home BancShares, Inc. is a bank holding company, headquartered in Conway, Arkansas. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Centennial Bank, provides a broad range of commercial and retail banking plus related financial services to businesses, real estate developers, investors, individuals and municipalities. Centennial Bank has branch locations in Arkansas, Florida, Texas, South Alabama and New York City. The Company's common stock is traded through the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HOMB." The Company was founded in 1998. Visit www.homebancshares.com or www.my100bank.com for more information. General This release contains forward-looking statements regarding the Company's plans, expectations, goals and outlook for the future, including future financial results. Statements in this press release that are not historical facts should be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future events, performance or results. When we use words or phrases like "may," "plan," "propose," "contemplate," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "continue," "expect," "project," "predict," "estimate," "could," "should," "would," "on track" and similar expressions, you should consider them as identifying forward-looking statements, although we may use other phrasing. Forward-looking statements of this type speak only as of the date of this news release. By nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Various factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: economic conditions, credit quality, interest rates, loan demand, real estate values and unemployment, including the ongoing impacts of inflation; the ability to identify, complete and successfully integrate new acquisitions; the risk that expected cost savings and other benefits from acquisitions may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; diversion of management time on acquisition-related issues; the availability of and access to capital and liquidity on terms acceptable to us; legislative and regulatory changes and risks and expenses associated with current and future legislation and regulations; technological changes and cybersecurity risks and incidents; the effects of changes in accounting policies and practices; changes in governmental monetary and fiscal policies; political instability, military conflicts and other major domestic or international events; the impact of recent or future adverse weather events, including hurricanes, and other natural disasters; disruptions, uncertainties and related effects on credit quality, liquidity and other aspects of our business and operations that may result from any future public health crises; competition from other financial institutions; potential claims, expenses and other adverse effects related to current or future litigation, regulatory examinations or other government actions; potential increases in deposit insurance assessments, increased regulatory scrutiny or market disruptions resulting from financial challenges in the banking industry; changes in the assumptions used in making the forward-looking statements; and other factors described in reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including those factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on February 26, 2024. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Townsell Director of Investor Relations Home BancShares, Inc. (501) 328-4625 © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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Mid-America Apartment Communities ( MAA -0.16% ) has a solid record of paying dividends . The real estate investment trust (REIT), which is focused on owning apartments in the U.S. Sun Belt region, has never suspended or reduced its payout in its 30 years as a public company. The landlord has routinely raised its dividend over the years, including the last 14 in a row . The residential REIT currently offers a dividend yield of over 3.5%. That's about triple the yield of the S&P 500 , which is around a 20-year low of 1.2%. In addition to that attractive income stream, MAA expects 2025 to begin a new multi-year growth cycle for its business. That makes it a great dividend stock to buy for the coming year and beyond. Headwinds shifting to tailwinds Lower interest rates following the pandemic's height fueled an apartment building boom across the Southeast, which has benefited from continued population and job growth. As a result, the supply of available apartments has surged, which has weighed on rent growth. For example, MAA's average rent per unit was down 0.4% during the third quarter. However, higher interest rates over the past couple of years have made it much more expensive for companies to start new apartment development projects. Because of that, new supply has now peaked and is steadily getting absorbed by the market, thanks to the continued strong demand for rental housing. These factors drive MAA's view that 2025 will mark a turning point in its business. CEO Eric Bolton stated in the Q3 earnings release: "We are confident that in calendar year 2025 we will see a meaningful decline in the amount of new supply impacting our portfolio, and we will enter a new multi-year cycle with demand outpacing supply." MAA also expects demand for rental housing to continue growing in its markets. It sees population growth of 1.5% across its markets next year (faster than the 0.8% growth across the markets of its REIT peers), along with a higher job growth rate (1.3% versus 1%). People and companies continue to migrate to the southern half of the U.S. due to its warmer weather, lower costs, and better business climate. Going on the offensive While most other developers pulled back on starting new apartment projects as interest rates rose, MAA has been ramping up. The REIT currently has five communities in the lease-up phase that it developed or acquired in the past year (1,708 units at a $457.8 million cost). These projects should stabilize by early 2025, supplying it with incremental rental income. On top of that, MAA has eight active development projects (2,762 units at a projected cost of $978.3 million). The REIT expects to complete these projects over the next few years, with stabilizations scheduled through the first quarter of 2028. They will provide the company with a growing stream of rental income over the next few years. MAA expects to start three to four more development projects next year. It has the land and financial capacity to continue beginning new developments in the coming years. The REIT is also investing capital to upgrade, reposition, and enhance its existing properties. For example, it expected to renovate 5,000 to 6,000 apartments last year. It also invests money to add amenities and technology to older properties. These investments make its communities more appealing to renters, enabling it to capture higher lease rates. Given the anticipated improvement in market conditions, MAA expects to increase the pace of these investments in 2025. The landlord also expects to remain active in the transaction market in 2025. It was on track to make around $400 million in acquisitions last year, a pace it expects to maintain in the new year. Poised for growth in 2025 and beyond "The upside opportunity within our current portfolio from these changing market conditions, coupled with the growing contribution from our new development and acquisitions pipeline, has MAA very well positioned," noted Bolton in the Q3 earnings report. The REIT's earnings growth rate should reaccelerate, which should boost its stock price, especially considering that shares are currently down about 30% over the past three years. In addition to that upside, MAA will likely continue to grow its high-yielding dividend. These factors set investors up to earn a strong total return in 2025 and beyond, making MAA a great dividend stock to buy as we head into the new year.US-led talks on small modular reactors could renew Asean’s nuclear push
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