FYI: Business
BY Staff and Wire reports
Saturday, February 02, 2013
2/02/13 at 2:47 AM
State drilling rig count jumps by six to 196
The number of drilling rigs actively exploring for oil or natural gas in Oklahoma climbed by six this week to 196, Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday.
The tally is down nine from a year ago, when it was 205.
Nationwide, the net number of active drilling units rose by 11 to 1,764, according to Houston-based Baker Hughes' website.
A year ago, the U.S. rig count was 1,997.
Of the rigs operating across the country this week, 1,332, or 76 percent of the total, were drilling for oil, while 428 were exploring for gas. Four rigs were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, 62 percent of active rigs were exploring for oil, according to Baker Hughes data.
Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, benchmark crude oil for March delivery rose 28 cents to finish at $97.77 a barrel. Natural gas fell 4 cents to $3.30 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Bank of America's website crashes
Bank of America said its online banking website crashed Friday, leaving customers unable to access their accounts.
From late morning, customers trying to log on saw a "temporarily unavailable" message.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp., the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, said later in the day it was working on the problem. But it wouldn't elaborate on what caused the outage.
"We're aware of the online banking issue and addressing as quickly as possible," Mark Pipitone, a spokesman for the bank, wrote in an email. "We're also working closely with our customers to help alleviate any concerns."
Angry customers took to Twitter to say they were frustrated as they tried to do their banking on the first day of the month. The lender noted on its Facebook page that its ATMs were running and that its credit and debit cards were also working.
Tyson Foods profit rises 11 percent
Tyson Foods Inc., the nation's biggest meat company, said Friday its fiscal first-quarter net income rose 11 percent as chicken and beef prices increased.
For the three months ended Dec. 29, the Springdale, Ark.-based company earned $173 million, or 48 cents per share, up from $156 million, or 42 cents per share, in the prior-year period.
Revenue edged up 1 percent to $8.4 billion from $8.33 billion.
Shares of Tyson Foods gained 68 cents, or 3 percent, to finish the week at $22.80.
Chicken and beef sales rose in the quarter, while pricing was up for both. Sales of pork and prepared foods fell as their prices declined.
CEO Donnie Smith said consumers may be shifting away from beef after the price of that meat rose at a faster pace.
"What we're beginning to think is that with all of these pressures on consumers today, maybe we are now seeing a legitimate shift from red meat proteins into chicken," he told analysts on a call.
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