Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Thursday, May 20, 1999
City Bank parent buying back stock
CB Bancshares Inc. today said it plans to buy back up to 10 percent of its outstanding stock over the next year in a move to boost shareholder values.The buyback of about 360,000 shares will depend on market conditions, said the Honolulu-based parent of City Bank and International Savings & Loan Association. On the Nasdaq market today, CB Bancshares' thinly traded stock rose $1.75 to close at $32.25, a 5.7 percent increase.
The company said excess capital levels and a sluggish Hawaii economy -- which has dragged down some local stocks -- provide an opportunity to enhance shareholder value through a stock buyback. Reducing the number of outstanding shares is considered one way of boosting demand for a company's remaining shares, potentially increasing their value. The banking company had more than 3.55 million shares outstanding as of April 30.
Bubba Gump eatery coming to Ala Moana
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant & Market plans to open a restaurant at Ala Moana Center on May 29.The eighth restaurant in a chain inspired by the movie "Forest Gump" is to be on the center's new upper level. The company, a partnership with Paramount Pictures, said it will donate 50 percent of opening day revenues to Aloha United Way.
Mortgage rates jump to 7.23%
WASHINGTON -- The average interest rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages jumped to its highest level since November 1997. The average this week was 7.23 percent, up from 7.10 percent last week, the mortgage company Freddie Mac said today. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 6.83 percent this week, up from 6.71 percent. One-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged an initial rate of 5.76 percent, up from 5.71 percent.
In other news . . .
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- EToys Inc. more than tripled after its initial stock sale, as investors' expectations for sales growth over the Internet gave the biggest online toy retailer a higher market value than Toys "R" Us Inc. EToys rose $56.56 to close at $76.56, giving it a market value of $7.78 billion, or 38 percent more than Toys "R" Us.