Fox expects Time Warner to drop its stations The Fox broadcasting network has rejected an offer from Time Warner Cable to submit to binding arbitration in a dispute over fees. Chase Carey, chief operating officer of Fox owner News Corp., told staff in a memo Wednesday that Time Warner is likely to drop Fox-owned stations when the current deal over fees expires at midnight Thursday.
AIG executive quits over federal pay cap American International Group Inc. has lost a top executive due to the government's limits on executive pay. AIG said Wednesday that Anastasia Kelly has resigned as vice chairman and general counsel, effective immediately, because of the reduction in her base salary that was mandated by the government's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg.
GM hasn't slammed the door on a Saab sale General Motors Co. is pressing ahead with plans to shut down Saab, though it will continue to hear bids for the Swedish car brand. GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson would not comment on reports that a deadline for proposals for Saab has been extended to Jan. 7. GM had announced earlier this month that it would wind down the brand.
Gasoline, crude oil prices inch upward Oil prices edged above $79 a barrel as the nation's crude supply fell for the fourth week in a row. Crude for February delivery added 41 cents to $79.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Retail gas prices jumped another 1.5 cents overnight to a national average of $2.623 a gallon, according to www.fuelgaugereport.com.
Aetna's 4th-quarter charge: Up to $65 million Health insurer Aetna Inc. expects a fourth-quarter charge of up to $65 million to cover costs for a previously announced series of layoffs and office consolidations. In November, the company announced plans to cut 625 jobs, or nearly 2 percent of its staff. It also said it would make a similar number of cuts by the end of 2010. Aetna, based in Hartford, Conn., expects to employ about 34,300 employees when the first round of layoffs is completed in the first quarter of 2010.
Hugo Boss to close 300-worker Ohio plant German clothing maker Hugo Boss AG will close a 300-worker plant in Cleveland that makes men's suits. The company said the decision was made because the Ohio plant is not being used to its full capacity and "the fact that it is not globally competitive." Hugo Boss makes two lines of men's suits there. Hugo Boss employs about 900 other U.S. workers in stores, showrooms and administrative positions, but the Cleveland plant was its only U.S. manufacturing operation.
