OPEC keeps output level

Rejecting calls from the West to put more oil on the market and give consumers relief on their fuel bills, OPEC decided Thursday to leave output unchanged with top producer Saudi Arabia saying current prices are good for buyers and sellers.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi, above, said OPEC would like to see its price average $25 per barrel, a “magic number” slightly below the current level but more expensive than oil has been for most of this year.

OPEC pledged that more oil would be pumped if the price moves too high. OPEC has pledged to boost output by 500,000 barrels daily if the price exceeds $28 per barrel for 20 days, or to cut production by the same amount if oil falls below $22 for 10 days.

Telecommunications

Birch wins approval of bankruptcy plan

The reorganization plan of Birch Telecom Inc. was approved Wednesday by a federal judge, less than two months after the company filed it as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition.

The plan was approved by U.S. District Judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr. after a 20-minute hearing in Delaware. Birch CEO David E. Scott said the order clears the way for Kansas City, Mo.-based Birch to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of the month.

“The reorganization plan will erase more than $230 million in debt from the balance sheet of the five-year-old telecommunication startup company.

Birch’s more than 1,100 employees, including about 400 in Kansas City, will be unaffected by the bankruptcy as will any creditors other than bank lenders and bondholders.

Investigation

Former Tyco leaders remain free on bail

A judge allowed former Tyco International Ltd. chief executive L. Dennis Kozlowski and former chief financial officer Mark Swartz to remain free on bail Thursday, pending a hearing on whether assets pledged for the bonds came from alleged multimillion-dollar fraud.

State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus set a Sept. 27 hearing to discuss the source of the money, which prosecutors contend was stolen from the company and should not be used for their bail.

Meanwhile, a person with knowledge of the case told The Associated Press on Thursday that Tyco is in the process of selling the posh Fifth Avenue apartment and its antiques and furnishings that Kozlowski allegedly bought with Tyco money.

Restaurants

Houlihan’s to restructure

Creditors of Kansas City, Mo-based Houlihan’s Restaurants Inc. will get control of the company under a reorganization plan approved this week by a bankruptcy judge.

The plan calls for the creditors, led by Fleet National, to give Houlihan’s a $10 million revolving loan and a $12 million term loan. In exchange, the banks will get all of the new company’s stock, though they will sell 51 percent of the stock to Houlihan’s management for $1 million.

Houlihan’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Jan. 23.