Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Wednesday, June 3, 1998
Big Island hotel hosts New Zealand group
KAILUA-KONA - The Hilton Waikoloa Village in West Hawaii is hosting 1,530 New Zealand business people until June 10, the Big Island Visitors Bureau announced.The visitors are key customers of PlaceMakers, a New Zealand construction products company. It rewards high-volume customers with incentive trips.
The visitors started arriving Monday mostly on scheduled flights. But some will arrive tomorrow on the first direct charter flight from New Zealand.
The New Zealanders are staying five nights at the Hilton Waikoloa Village.
Boeing to phase out MD-11 aircraft
SEATTLE -- Boeing Co. said it will phase out its three-engine, wide-body jetliner for cargo and passengers because demand slackened for the MD-11 aircraft it acquired in its purchase of McDonnell Douglas last year.The world's largest maker of aircraft said it will lay off some of the 3,750 workers who build the plane at plants in Long Beach, California; Toronto; Salt Lake City; and Melbourne, Arkansas. No special charges are planned, though Boeing will write down the value of related assets in the second quarter.
The biggest customers for the long-haul jet, a modified version of the DC-10, have been FDX Corp.'s Federal Express and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines. Demand has fallen far short of Boeing's earlier forecast as Federal Express, among others, turned to used aircraft instead of buying new ones.
Merrill Lynch settles Orange County lawsuit
IRVINE, Calif. -- Merrill Lynch & Co. has agreed to pay Orange County $400 million to settle the main lawsuit resulting from the county's 1994 bankruptcy, the largest of its kind in U.S. history.The county's $2 billion lawsuit accused the Wall Street giant of giving it bad investment advice, and a trial was scheduled to begin Sept. 15. Instead, the settlement was announced yesterday after three weeks' mediation before U.S. District Judge John Davies in Los Angeles.
Merrill Lynch acknowledged no wrongdoing.
AT&T retirement offer attracts many takers
NEW YORK -- AT&T's offer of early retirement incentives for managers proved more popular than it expected.The nation's biggest long-distance phone service provider announced today that at least 14,000 managers will leave the company under the plan that included higher pensions and expanded eligibility for benefits.
When it made the offer in January, AT&T expected 10,000 to 11,000 managers would take the early retirement offer.
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
See our [Search] [Info] section for subscription information.