New-home sales fall by 1.4 percent

WASHINGTON >> Wary about making big financial commitments, Americans pushed sales of new homes in September down to their lowest point in a year. Rising layoffs and new uncertainties raised by the terror attacks darkened the mood of prospective buyers.

New-home sales dropped 1.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 864,000, the lowest level since August 2000, when a rate of 839,000 homes were sold, the Commerce Department reported today.

Last month's drop came on top of a 2.9 percent decline in new-home sales in August, according to revised figures. The government had previously reported that sales rose 0.6 percent.

Still, even with slowing sales, analysts are hopeful the housing market, aided by low mortgage rates, will continue to be stable.

Newspaper layoffs result in union grievance

Layoff notices given to five employees of the Hawaii Tribune-Herald Oct. 19 prompted the Hawaii Newspaper Guild to file a grievance with the Hawaii Labor Relations Board.

The two-week notices given to two advertising department billing clerks, two business office clerks and a janitor violate the contract between the union and the newspaper, said union administrative officer Wayne Cahill. Their employment is to be terminated effective Friday, Nov. 2.

Newspaper management had failed to take employee seniority into account, he said. The union represents 47 employees at the newspaper.

A union statement claims the employees were told the layoffs were due to economic conditions and that each position would be converted to part-time effective Nov. 5. Part-time status was offered to each employee. Tribune-Herald officials did not return telephone calls.

Losses mount at Kona's Cyanotech Corp.

Cyanotech Corp. yesterday reported a loss of $509,000 for the three months through Sept. 30, the second quarter of its fiscal year. In the same quarter last year, the Kona-based producer of health products made from microalgae, had a loss of $40,000. Sales of $1.95 million in the latest quarter were down 17.3 percent from $2.36 million a the year earlier. Cyanotech's largest customer, Spirulina International, accounted for only 8 percent of Cyanotech's total sales in the latest quarter, compared to 41 percent a year earlier.