Business briefs
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Oceanic to add recording feature
Oceanic Time Warner Cable said it will add a recording feature to its digital cable service for $9.95 per month, starting Saturday.
The service will allow customers to record one show while watching another or record two shows at once. The "digital video recorder" can record up to 40 hours of programs. The new service doesn't require the customer to purchase new equipment.
Verizon to halt relay services
Verizon Hawaii Inc. notified the state Public Utilities Commission that it will stop providing telecommunications relay services for the hearing and speech impaired within 90 days. Verizon will work with the commission to find another provider.
The service is run by 15 Verizon employees. Company spokeswoman Ann Nishida said Verizon will try to find other jobs within the company for those workers and may offer severance and early retirement benefits for others.
Grocery supplier eliminating jobs
Fleming Cos., the largest U.S. grocery distributor and Hawai'i's largest wholesale grocery distributor, will cut 1,800 jobs, or about 15 percent of its workforce, and said the Securities and Exchange Commission has formalized an accounting investigation.
Fleming will have pretax costs of about $290 million to eliminate the positions, close distribution centers and write down the value of inventory as it prepares to stop supplying retailer Kmart Corp. Most of the job cuts will take place in Dallas and Oklahoma City, spokesman Shane Boyd said.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers was retained by the company to assist with its own investigation. The SEC is reviewing how Fleming accounted for payments to suppliers.
Macy's owner reports profit
Federated Department Stores Inc., the parent of Macy's, said fourth-quarter profit rose 10 percent. Net income increased to $341 million from profit from continuing operations of $310 million in a year-earlier period. The retailer also said it promoted Terry Lundgren to chief executive, replacing James Zimmerman.
