BUSINESS BRIEFS
Gasoline cap rising 12 cents
Advertiser Staff
Hawai'i's gasoline cap will rise 12 cents a gallon on Monday, mirroring an increase in Mainland prices.
The cap on O'ahu will be $2.016 a gallon for regular from March 13-19, according to the state Public Utilities Commission. That price excludes taxes and a retail margin. Gasoline prices, which had been declining during the past month, will rise after a jump in crude oil prices and speculation that refinery maintenance will cut supplies heading into the Mainland's warm-weather driving season.
FUND TO BOOST ENTERPRISES
The state House of Representatives approved a bill that would create a $100 million fund to invest in companies that focus on advanced technology, life sciences and renewable energy.
"These types of enterprises are considered in the early stages of development in Hawai'i and need public financial support in order to leap successfully to the next level," supporters of the measure said in a news release.
After the initial $100 million appropriation, the fund would receive one-half percent of the state's general fund over the next four years to ensure its viability.
GOOD MONTH FOR HAWAIIAN
Hawaiian Airlines flew 459,980 passengers in February, up 6.9 percent from the same month a year earlier, the company announced yesterday.
The airline also recorded 514 million revenue passenger miles in February, up 9.9 percent from a year earlier. Available seat miles totaled 587 million for the month, up 4.8 percent from the previous year. Load factor was 97.7 percent, up from 83.7 percent from a year earlier.
STATE BOND SALE BOOSTS RATINGS
The state sold $350 million of general obligation bonds yesterday at an interest rate of 4.39 percent, which ranks among the lowest interest rates achieved in the past 30 years, Gov. Linda Lingle said.
The bond sale capped a credit review process in which Fitch Ratings upgraded the state's bond rating to AA from AA-. Standard & Poor's reaffirmed its AA- for the state, while Moody's reaffirmed its rating of Aa2.
