Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Monday, October 5, 1998
Construction contracts rise slightly for isles
The value of contracts signed for future Hawaii construction was up 3 percent in August, compared with August 1997, according to the monthly survey.The report by the F.W. Dodge division of the McGraw-Hill Cos. said total contracts written in August came to just under $200 million compared with $193.6 million in the year-earlier month.
Contracts for commercial buildings were down 39 percent at $69.6 million, from $113.5 million in August 1997. However, August nonbuilding contracts -- for streets, highways, airports and other infrastructure -- were up 92 percent at $71.6 million, from $37.3 million. Residential construction contracts were up 37 percent at $58.8 million in August compared with $42.8 million in the year-earlier month.
For the eight months through August, total contracts of $1.03 billion were down 20 percent from $1.3 billion in the 1997 period.
Denver company provides drug services for HMAA
Coram Prescription Services has announced an agreement with Hawaii Management Alliance Association to manage pharmacy benefits and specialty mail-order prescription drugs.HMAA provides health care coverage to small and midsize businesses and has 27,000 members in Hawaii and the Marshall Islands.
"We have the ability to access information directly from them at any time, instead of waiting for a written report," said Arnie Baptiste Jr., HMAA's president and chief executive. This enables the association to see where it can control or reduce costs, he said.
Coram, a subsidiary of Denver-based Coram Healthcare Corp., replaces Maryland Heights, Mo.-based Express Scripts Inc. in providing the pharmacy services to HMAA. Coram will provide its services through about 160 contracted pharmacies in Hawaii.
AT&T pays $1.5 billion for cellular phone firm
NEW YORK -- AT&T Corp. said it will buy Vanguard Cellular Systems Inc. for $1.5 billion in stock, cash and assumed debt, in a bid to expand and boost the earnings of its U.S. wireless operations.AT&T, one of the U.S.'s largest cellular companies, will pay either $23 in cash or 0.3987-share for each Vanguard share, with the overall payment half in cash and half in stock. At $23 a share, Vanguard holders will be paid a 16 percent premium to Friday's closing price, Bloomberg News reported. AT&T is counting on its fast-growing wireless business and its new Digital One Rate plan to boost sales and profit. With Greensboro, N.C.-based Vanguard's 625,000 customers and Eastern U.S. network, analysts say AT&T will be able to reduce the charges it pays when customers make calls where AT&T doesn't have networks.
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