The state insurance commissioner has announced dates and locations for public hearings regarding Premera Blue Cross’ proposed conversion to a for-profit company. The hearing that’s closest to Snohomish County will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 11 at the DoubleTree Hotel, 18740 Pacific Highway S., in SeaTac. Hearings also are scheduled for Yakima, Spokane and Bellingham. Premera, based in Mountlake Terrace, applied last year to transform from a private nonprofit firm to a publicly held, for-profit insurer. The insurance commissioner is scheduled to make his recommendation on the conversion by March 15.
Microvision Inc. of Bothell will provide Canon with microdisplay prototypes that could be used eventually in digital camera and digital video cameras. The agreement is the “largest in dollar value between the two companies to date,” according to Microvision, although specific financial terms were not released. Microvision already has worked on the miniature displays for more than a year. They use some of the same technology employed in the company’s augmented vision devices.
Computer users will be able to more easily search for data, will be able to better navigate their computers and will be able to work more securely in the next version of Microsoft’s Windows, company founder Bill Gates said Monday. At Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles, Gates offered the first public view of “Longhorn,” the next version of Microsoft’s flagship operating system. While no release date has been set, a test version is expected next summer. Windows is Microsoft’s premier product, and Gates said the next update was important to the company.
The Treasury Department sold three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.94 percent, up from 0.92 percent last week. Six-month bills sold at a rate of 1.02 percent, up from 1.015 percent. The new discount rates understate the return to investors – 0.96 percent for three-month bills with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,976.20 and 1.043 percent for a six-month bill selling for $9,948.40. The Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills, the most popular index for changing adjustable rate mortgages, rose to 1.3 percent last week from 1.29 percent the previous week.
From Herald staff
and news reports
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
