ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 2, 1997 TAG: 9704020041
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: INDICATOR
Financial companies and Baby Bells led a slide last month in the index of regional stocks. John C. Parrott II, who tracks the index for Wheat First Butcher Singer in Roanoke, said there was "a fairly strong falloff" in Norfolk Southern Corp. and General Electric Co. stocks, and in those of telephone companies and banks. Most of the other 20 stocks remained about level or fell slightly.
FBI may be looking at hospital purchases
The federal government, already investigating possible Medicare fraud at Columbia-HCA Healthcare Corp., also is looking at the health care company's acquisition of several hospitals in northeastern Ohio, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
The newspaper said the FBI in Ohio is investigating how Columbia, the nation's largest health care company, acquired St. John West Shore in Westlake, St. Vincent Charity in Cleveland and Timken Mercy in Canton from the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine Health Systems Inc.
Several people with knowledge of the acquisitions have been interviewed by federal agents, the newspaper said.
Neither FBI officials nor the Justice Department would comment.
A spokeswoman for Nashville, Tenn.-based Columbia said the company knew of no investigation at its Ohio hospitals.
Columbia/HCA is parent of Lewis-Gale Hospital and Lewis-Gale Psychiatric Center in Salem and Pulaski Community and Montgomery Regional hospitals in the New River Valley.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
AT&T cut its chairman's pay, promised bonus to replacement
NEW YORK - AT&T Corp. cut the pay of chairman Robert Allen 14 percent last year even as it promised his future replacement, John Walter, a lucrative hiring bonus that includes $12 million in cash.
Allen's pay cut reflected a slump in company profits resulting from intense competition in AT&T's core long-distance phone business.
The company said in its annual proxy statement to shareholders, released Tuesday, that Allen earned $5.5 million, down from $6.4 million, in salary, bonus and stock options in 1995. The cut largely was made largely in his annual bonus.
Walter, who was hired in October, will get a complicated package of $12 million in cash as well as stock options and restricted shares, AT&T said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AT&T did not put a value on the stock awards.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Color chart.by CNB