Tulsa World: FYI: Business

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FYI: Business

By Staff and Wire Reports
Published: 11/17/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 11/17/2009 8:45 AM

Integris restructuring, to cut corporate posts

Under a new restructuring plan, Integris Health, the state's largest health care corporation, will eliminate several corporate positions, spokeswoman Brooke Cayot said Monday.

"Integris Health is undergoing a corporate restructure effective Jan. 1, 2010," Cayot said. "It isn't known how many positions or what facilities will be affected."

Cayot said the positions eliminated are corporate positions, not clinical positions. Duplicated positions will be consolidated to reduce duplicated responsibilities, she said.

Integris operates 13 hospitals in Blackwell, Enid, Grove, Miami, Pryor, Clinton, Yukon, Oklahoma City, Spencer, Seminole and Madill, and employs around 9,000 statewide. The company also has mental health providers in 50 Oklahoma communities.

Cayot released a prepared statement saying the current economy and its impact on the firm's work force, as well as impending changes in legislation, prompted the changes.

Berkshire Hathaway cuts ConocoPhillips holdings

Billionaire Warren Buffett's company bought a nearly $60 million stake in Exxon Mobil Corp., and cut its holdings in oil rival ConocoPhillips during the third quarter.

Omaha-based Berkshire disclosed the changes to its $59.7 billion U.S. stock portfolio in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday.

During the quarter, Berkshire Hathaway bought nearly 855,000 shares of Exxon Mobil. Its stake in ConocoPhillips was cut from more than 64 million shares at the end of June to more than 57 million shares, valued at nearly $2.6 billion.

Time Warner to spin off AOL Inc. on Dec. 9

Time Warner said Monday that it will spin off its Internet business, AOL Inc., as a separate company on Dec. 9.

Time Warner Inc. said it has declared a dividend on the AOL shares it owns that will result in a complete separation of the two companies.

On Dec. 9, Time Warner stockholders of record Nov. 27 will receive AOL common stock for every 11 shares of Time Warner common stock they hold.

According to a recent regulatory filing, Time Warner had about 1.17 billion outstanding shares as of Oct. 27, so this means AOL will start out with roughly 106.1 million shares.

Time Warner was initially purchased by AOL in 2001.

AOL shares will start trading Dec. 10 on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "AOL."

Fed cracks down on gift card abuses

The Federal Reserve on Monday proposed new rules to protect consumers from unexpected costs or restrictions on gift cards.

More than 95 percent of Americans have received or purchased gift cards, the Fed said.

Under the proposed rule, consumers must have at least five years to use the gift cards before they expire. The Fed also said service or inactivity fees can be imposed only under certain conditions.

Such fees can be charged if the consumer hasn't used the card for at least a year, if the consumer is given clear disclosures about them and no more than one fee is charged a month, the Fed said.

The Fed was directed to take the action under a law Congress passed in May.

"Consumers who do not use the value of the card within a short period of time may be surprised to find that the card has expired or that dormancy or service fees have reduced the value of the card," the Fed explained. "Even where fees or terms are disclosed on or with the card, the disclosures may not be clear and conspicuous."

The public, industry groups and other interested parties can comment on the Fed's proposal, which could be revised before a final rule is adopted.

The Fed said the new provisions are slated to take effect on Aug. 22.

By Staff and Wire Reports

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