Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Thursday, September 4, 1997

State unit to investigate
auto insurance fraud

State Insurance Commissioner Rey Graulty today announced the formation of a motor vehicle fraud investigation unit.

Graulty appointed Ted Baker, former head of the Attorney General's criminal justice division, to head up the new unit, which was formed by legislation passed by Hawaii lawmakers this year.

Fraud is one of several factors in the state's costly auto insurance rates, which are the second highest in the nation behind New Jersey's. The Legislature's no-fault auto insurance reform this year tightened the loopholes for fraud, making it a criminal offense to present false or multiple insurance claims.

According to the state, the new fraud investigation unit will be funded through fees paid by local auto insurers.

Cyanotech's top customer
resumes buying products

Cyanotech Corp. said its biggest customer, a Hong Kong-based distribution company, is buying again, after solving a business license problem.

The Hong Kong buyer has placed a $140,000 order for Cyanotech's Spirulina Pacifica diet supplement product to be delivered next month, Cyanotech said today.

The buyer had not receive the annual renewal of its Chinese government license to do business and was unable to buy during the April-June quarter, Cyanotech said. The loss of business contributed to an 85 percent drop in Cyanotech's profit for the quarter, compared with the 1996 quarter.

The order is a relatively small one from the Hong Kong buyer, which sells the products throughout mainland China, but it is encouraging that the license problem appears to have been resolved, Kona-based Cyanotech said.

Seminar to cover how
to win military contracts

Island businesses interested in getting some of the $1.3 billion that military agencies spend in Hawaii each year can learn how to use their computers to tap into that market.

A day-long workshop on "Using Electronic Commerce to Win Federal Contracts" will be held Sept. 25 at the Hale Koa Hotel.

Organized by the local chapter of the National Contract Management Association and the Oakland Electronic Resource Center, the seminar will describe the current electronic purchasing strategies of various defense and federal civilian agencies.

Businesses will be shown how to find out about contract opportunities and how to submit bids by computer. The cost is $40 in advance or $45 at the door and includes materials and lunch.

Reservations may be made with Hector Venegas at 523-2931, or by fax at 545-4739.

Aston Hotels to manage resort's rental units

Aston Hotels & Resorts has taken over the management of vacation rental units in the 364-apartment Papakea Resort in Lahaina, Maui.

Aston named Jerry Robertson, former general manager of the Aston-managed Maui Kaanapali Villas, as general manager of the Lahaina condominium property.

The company said Robertson will run Aston's rental program, the front desk operation and, for the time being, the resort's association of apartment owners.

Aston now manages 31 condominium resorts and hotels in Hawaii and a subsidiary will open six new hotels in the next 12 months in Australia, Bali, Guam and the Philippines.

Thirty-year mortgages
drop to 7.53 percent

WASHINGTON -- Thirty-year mortgages dropped to an average 7.53 percent this week from 7.58 percent last week, according to a national survey released today by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association.

Fifteen-year mortgages fell to an average 7.08 percent from 7.12 percent, Freddie Mac reported. One-year adjustable rate mortgages decreased to 5.58 percent from 5.62 percent last week.

A year ago, the 30-year rate averaged 8.34 percent; the 15-year 7.88 percent and the ARM 5.85 percent.

"We continue to expect mortgage rates to hover between 7.50 percent and 8.00 percent through the end of the year," said Robert Van Order, chief economist at Freddie Mac.

Factory orders,
retail sales rose in July

WASHINGTON -- Orders to U.S. factories inched 0.2 percent higher to a record level in July, following a big gain a month earlier, and shoppers returned to the nation's stores in August -- signs the economy churned at a brisk pace this summer.

The stronger-than-expected advance in factory orders, to a seasonally adjusted $330.3 billion, followed a 1.7 percent jump in June, the Commerce Department said.

July's factory orders gain would have been even stronger if not for a 3.5 percent drop in the volatile transportation sector. An increase in orders for cars and trucks wasn't enough to offset a decline in aircraft. Excluding transportation, orders rose 0.8 percent in July after a 0.7 percent gain in June.

Separately, big U.S. retailers reported today that after a dismal spring and early summer shoppers snapped up new fall merchandise, especially apparel and other back-to-school supplies. Children's clothes and personal computers were among the top sellers.

Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits edged 2,000 higher last week to a seasonally adjusted 326,000. States with the biggest advances in jobless claims were in Arkansas, 1,237; New York, 712; Missouri, 622; and Hawaii, 345.