Local & State

Midlands

KeenenSuggs acquires Greenville insurance firm

Keenan & Suggs Inc. of Columbia has acquired The Sullivan Co. of Greenville, a 39-year-old personal and commercial insurance agency also offering employee benefits. KeenanSuggs offers insurance, risk management, employee benefits and HR services. KeenanSuggs, a 64-year-old company that also has an office in Raleigh, will combine its Greenville office with the Sullivan team at 501 East McBee Ave. in Greenville.

Deadline for Freedom Award nominations is Monday

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense agency, is encouraging National Guard members and reservists to nominate their civilian employers for the 2013 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. The deadline for nominations is Monday. The Freedom Award is the nation’s highest recognition for employers supporting Guard and Reserve members. Employers of every size and industry are eligible to receive the honor. Nominate an employer at www.FreedomAward.mil.

Nation & World

Oracle says Java patch fixes security problem

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. Oracle says it has released a fix for the flaw in its Java software that raised an alarm from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week. Late Thursday, the federal agency recommended that Internet users disable Java software in Web browsers to avoid potential hacking attacks. Java allows programs to run within websites and powers some advertising networks. Users who disable Java may not be able to see portions of websites that display real-time data such as stock tickers, news, weather updates and ads. Oracle says the patch was released Sunday. The company recommends that users update Java immediately. The patch sets Java’s default security level to “high” so it prompts users and gives them a chance to decline malicious software before it loads onto their computers.

MetLife completes sale to GE Capital

WASHINGTON Snoopy is getting out of the banking business. Insurance giant MetLife Inc., which uses Peanuts characters as its corporate mascots, on Monday closed a deal to sell its banking assets. GE Capital Retail Bank, a subsidiary of General Electric Co., acquired MetLife Bank’s $6.4 billion in deposits and its online banking operation, the companies announced. Financial terms of the deal were not released. The move came after MetLife Bank’s federal regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, approved the transaction last month. MetLife said it has already started the process for deregistering as a bank holding company. MetLife has had a banking operation since 2001.

Kristy Eppley Rupon, Jeff Wilkinson, the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press contributed.