HONOLULU, FEDS TEAM UP

KEN SAKAMOTO / KSAKAMOTO@STARBULLETIN.COM
The Small Business Resource Center, a joint project of the
City of Honolulu and the Small Business Administration,
held its grand opening yesterday in the Chinatown
Gateway Plaza at 1041 Nuuanu Ave. Festivities
included lion dancing and a light lunch following
the ceremonies. Mayor Jeremy Harris and SBA
District Director Andrew Poepoe were among the
dignitaries on hand. The city's Office of Economic
Development expects to better leverage its assistance
to small businesses by collaborating with the SBA,
which in addition to loans, offers business start-up
information, tax workshops, bookkeeping services,
financing options, safety seminars, grant-writing
instruction and guidance on obtaining
government contracts.

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Isle 'Net service provider CEO resigns post

Louis Coschigano has resigned as president and chief executive of local Internet service provider Pacific Information Exchange Inc., and has been replaced by company Chairman Stanley Kubota.

Coschigano will remain a director of the firm, which operates under three separate Web names: aloha.com, pixi.com and hula.net. The change was effective yesterday, the company said in a statement.

Coschigano said he would seek consulting work for new start-up ventures in Hawaii. He joined the firm in 1996, two years after it was co-founded by Kubota.

Oil prices temporarily dip below $20 a barrel

NEW YORK >> U.S. oil prices slithered below $20 a barrel for the first time in more than two years today as a barrage of bad economic news deepened gloom about the prospects for fuel demand.

London Brent hit a session low of $19.04 a barrel, but staged a late rally and ended 15 cents stronger at $19.77.

U.S. light crude also fell to less than $20 a barrel for the first time in more than two years, but pared losses late in the session and ended 22 cents weaker at $20.17 a barrel.

The OPEC cartel's strong signal of a 4 percent supply cut -- its fourth reduction this year -- when ministers meet later this month has failed to shore up the market.

A government report showing the United States losing 415,000 jobs in October, the biggest monthly fall in two decades, reinforced concern about wilting demand.

U.S. consumer spending fell at its fastest pace in more than 14 years in September while the U.S. economy contracted 0.4 percent in the third quarter, the steepest decline in a decade.

"It's just too much for the (oil) market to bear," said a NYMEX floor trader.

The OPEC cartel that controls two-thirds of world exports is preparing to slice production by another million barrels per day when ministers meet in Vienna on Nov. 14.

Priceline.com shares rise after loss narrows

Norwalk, Conn. >> Priceline.com Inc. shares rose as much as 13 percent after the third-largest Internet travel agency's third-quarter loss narrowed despite a sales decline and it said fourth-quarter results will beat estimates. It closed up 10 cents at $4.50. Earlier, the shares reached $4.96.

The Norwalk, Conn.-based company said late yesterday its third-quarter loss narrowed to $3.59 million, or 2 cents a share, from $199.1 million, or $1.19, a year earlier. Sales fell 12 percent to $302 million.

The company cut costs as bookings fell after the terrorist attacks. Priceline.com reduced expenses by shuffling executives, firing 4 percent of its staff and shelving expansion plans.

Priceline.com also yesterday forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $215 million to $235 million and break-even earnings excluding certain items.

In other news . . .

New York >> Tiffany & Co., the U.S. luxury-jewelry retailer, said it will open its first store in Beijing to cater to the growing number of affluent customers in mainland China. The store in the lobby of Beijing's Palace Hotel is scheduled to open in December under a business license held by the hotel.