BUSINESS BRIEFS
Isle-based stocks also hit the skids
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Local stocks mostly fell with the broader stock market for a second day as Wall Street extended its biggest plunge in five months.
Central Pacific Financial, parent company of Central Pacific Bank, fell $1.49 or almost 5 percent, to close at $28.56. On Thursday the stock was one of the few Hawai'i-based companies showing a gain. It had announced an increase in its share repurchase program and dividend.
Shipping and real estate company Alexander & Baldwin Inc. declined 1.7 percent as its shares dropped 91 cents to $52.35, while Hawaiian Holdings, the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, was off 13 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $3.
Among gainers, Bank of Hawaii's shares rose 23 cents to $48.61. That represented a 0.5 percent increase.
DECISION PUT OFF ON TV SERVICE
A state deadline to decide whether Hawai'i's major telephone company can offer TV services over its phone lines has been delayed from Tuesday until Aug. 31.
Hawaiian Telcom requested the extension — its 10th. The company is seeking a cable franchise license from the state, which would give the company the right to offer video service in Honolulu in competition with Time Warner Oceanic Cable. The state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is reviewing the company's application.
Hawaiian Telcom has said it plans to launch Internet-based television in early 2008.
PORTLAND CEMENT SHIPMENTS RISE
Hawai'i's Portland cement shipments rose 17.1 percent in May to 42,904 metric tons, according to data from Bloom-berg L.P.
The cement is the basic ingredient in concrete, mortar and stucco, and shipments are an indicator of construction activity in each state.
The rise in shipments here compared with a 5.6 percent decline nationally.
MESA TO REPORT QUARTER RESULTS
Mesa Air Group Inc., the parent company of interisland airline go!, will report its fiscal third-quarter financial results on Wednesday, along with holding a conference call to discuss the performance.
Those interested in listening to the discussion can access a webcast at 6 a.m. Hawai'i time, at www.mesa-air.com. A replay of the call for investors and analysts will be available about an hour after its conclusion at 800-841-8570.
SHIDLER PROJECT LEASES AT 81%
The Shidler Group, the company headed by Honolulu-based real estate investor Jay Shidler, said it has leased 81 percent of the three-tower City Square project in Phoe-nix.
The commercial real estate company recently leased 31,638 square feet of space to the state of Arizona on a 67-month contract, bringing the amount of square footage rented in the buildings to almost 153,000 square feet.
HORIZON LINES NET PROFIT JUMPS
Horizon Lines Inc., the shipping company that is the No. 2 carrier of Mainland cargo to Hawai'i, reported its second-quarter net income rose to $9.6 million, or 28 cents a share. It compared with a year earlier's net profit of $6.4 million, or 19 cents a share.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based company said profit was higher when a loss for the extinguishment of debt and second offering expenses were excluded.
"Despite some lingering volume softness, we once again overcame challenges and delivered solid earnings in the second quarter of 2007," said Chuck Raymond, chairman, president and chief executive officer, in a news statement.
BOYD GAMING NAMES TOP EXEC
Keith Smith has been named chief executive officer of the Boyd Gaming Corp., a Las Vegas-based company whose casinos are popular with Hawai'i residents. Smith's appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2008.
Smith has been with Boyd Gaming for 17 years and has been chief operating officer since 2001 and president since 2005. Smith, 47, joined the company as corporate controller in 1990.
Smith will succeed Bill Boyd, who remains with the company that was founded by his father, Sam, in the newly created position of executive chairman. In addition to chairing the company's board, Boyd, 75, will serve on the firm's management committee.
Boyd Gaming owns and operates 17 gaming properties.
TRUST’S VOTE SLOWS MURDOCH
Rupert Murdoch's quest to gain control of The Wall Street Journal suffered a serious setback yesterday when a trust controlling 9 percent of the shareholder votes in the newspaper's parent said they would vote against the media mogul's takeover offer.
The trust, which is controlled by Denver attorneys on behalf of a branch of the Bancroft family, had been seen as favoring the $5 billion deal for Dow Jones & Co. But people tracking the behind-the-scenes tallying of the vote said the Denver trustees had decided to hold out in hopes of getting more money for their stake.
CANCELED FLIGHTS BLAMED ON PILOTS
Northwest Airlines blamed a spike in canceled flights yesterday on pilot absenteeism and warned that it would probably cancel more flights over the weekend.
The airline declined to release specific figures but said it expected to complete 93 percent of its flights yesterday. The Web site www.FlightStats.com said Northwest had canceled 118 flights as of 4 p.m. Hawai'i yesterday. The flight-tracking service said Northwest had canceled 48 flights on Thursday.
ECONOMY SEES BOOST IN SPRING
The economy popped out of its rut this spring and grew at the strongest pace in more than a year, giving President Bush something to crow about.
The best barometer of the country's economic fitness — gross domestic product — increased at a 3.4 percent annual rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.
Businesses regained their appetite to spend and sold more good overseas, contributing to the improved performance. Stronger government spending also helped out. Individuals, however, took a breather as they coped with high gasoline prices and the ill effects of the housing slump, including spiking foreclosures and late mortgage payments. The sour housing market continued to weigh on the economy but not nearly as much as it had in previous quarters.
