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Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Thursday, April 13, 2000

Construction firm starts new division

Dick Pacific, Hawaii's largest construction firm, said it has formed a new heavy, power and industrial division and brought in Joseph P. "Gerry" Majkut from the parent Dick Corp. in Pittsburgh to run it. Majkut, who has had 19 year in heavy construction, will oversee projects in Hawaii and Micronesia. Dick Pacific is the former Fletcher Pacific Construction Co., which was acquired by Dick Corp. in October.

Castle & Cooke hires adviser on buyout

A special committee of Castle & Cooke Inc. directors has retained Bear Stearns & Co. as its financial adviser to help evaluate a proposal by the company's chairman, David H. Murdock, to take over the company. The committee also hired the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as its legal adviser. Flexi-Van Leasing Inc., wholly owned by Murdock, has offered $17 a share for the 73 percent of Castle & Cooke stock that Murdock doesn't already own. Los Angeles-based Castle & Cooke develops residential and commercial real estate in Hawaii and on the mainland, and owns two Lanai resorts.

30-year mortgages fall to 8.12 percent

WASHINGTON -- The average interest rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 8.12 percent this week from 8.20 percent last week, a survey by mortgage broker Freddie Mac said today. Fifteen-year mortgages slipped to 7.76 percent from 7.83 percent last week. One-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged an initial rate of 6.86 percent, up from 6.79.

Wholesale prices show limited inflation

WASHINGTON -- Prices paid to U.S. producers for goods other than energy and food were little changed in March, suggesting higher oil costs haven't triggered accelerating inflation, government figures showed today.

The core rate of the Producer Price Index rose 0.1 percent last month, the Labor Department reported. All producer prices rose 1 percent last month.

Analysts had expected a 0.1 percent rise in the core rate and a 0.6 percent increase in the PPI.