Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Thursday, October 29, 1998
University of Phoenix opening Maui branch
The Hawaii branch of the University of Phoenix is expanding to Maui.The university, which offers various graduate and undergraduate degrees to working adults, said yesterday that its Maui classes will be held in One Main Plaza in Wailuku. The school said it plans to offer classes this year in temporary classrooms in the building. By early next year, the school plans to have its permanent classrooms ready in 8,700 square feet on the building's fourth and fifth floors.
"Since Maui does not have a four-year university, it became apparent that there was a real need to offer undergraduate and graduate degrees to Maui's working adults," said Grace Blodgett, vice president and director of the university's Hawaii campus.
The university is a for-profit operation owned by Phoenix-based Apollo Group Inc. and has 65 campuses and learning centers in 12 states and Puerto Rico. Its Hawaii operations, which began in 1990 with 22 students, now has 1,200 students.
Thirty-year mortgages stay below 7 percent
WASHINGTON -- The benchmark U.S. mortgage rate rose this week while holding below 7 percent for the 20th consecutive week, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 6.83 percent this week from last week's 6.73 percent, according to a weekly survey of mortgage rates from Freddie Mac.
Long-term mortgage rates hit a 30-year low of 6.49 percent in the week ended Oct. 9. In January 1968 the monthly average was 6.41 percent. So far this year, the highest level for the 30-year mortgage rate was 7.22 percent, reached during the first week of May.
This week's rate put the average principal and interest payment on a $100,000 loan at $653.92, vs. last year's $679.47 -- when the 30-year rate was at 7.21 percent the week ended Oct. 31, 1997.
The latest report also showed the average rate on a one-year adjustable mortgage rose to 5.42 percent this week from 5.37 percent last week; and the 15-year mortgage rate jumped to 6.48 percent from 6.34 percent.
U.S. compensation rose 3.7 percent in year
WASHINGTON -- Wages, salaries and benefits paid to American workers rose by 3.7 percent over the past year, the biggest increase in more than six years.The rise for the year ended in September shows workers still are benefiting from two years of robust economic growth, which slowed this spring as spillover from world financial turmoil hurt American trade. But, before that happened, unemployment sank to a 28-year low in the spring, forcing employers to boost compensation faster than inflation in order to attract and retain qualified workers. During the year covered by today's Labor Department report, consumer prices rose just 1.5 percent.
Today's report, which showed a larger-than-expected 1 percent compensation increase in the July-September quarter alone, reflected an unusually strong 1.9 percent jump in compensation at finance, insurance and real estate businesses during the quarter.
"This will change in the fourth quarter as the world financial crisis takes its toll on the industry," said economist Bill Cheney of John Hancock in Boston.
BankAmerica to boost quarterly dividend 18%
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bank-America Corp. plans to boost its quarterly dividend by 18 percent. BankAmerica, newly formed from the merger of BankAmerica Corp. and NationsBank Corp., is the nation's largest bank, with assets of $595 billion. It is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. A dividend of 45 cents, up from 38 cents, will be paid Dec. 23 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 4.
Sony's earnings tumble as product prices fall
TOKYO -- Sony Corp. said second-quarter earnings fell 19.6 percent as a collapse in prices for computer displays, broadcasting equipment and cellular phones offset strong sales of the PlayStation home video-game machine.Group net income at the world's second largest maker of consumer electronics fell to 45.106 billion yen ($383 million), or 98.5 yen per diluted share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, from 56.113 billion yen, or 122.1 yen per share, in the year-earlier quarter. Sales climbed 6.9 percent to 1.751 trillion yen from 1.638 trillion yen, Bloomberg News reported.
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
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