Taking notice

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NEW JOBS

>> Sprint Hawaii has named David Oyadomari as its business marketing manager. He will be responsible for the development of strategic relationships with local companies, business planning and marketing strategy for Sprint Hawaii's business market. Oyadomari previously served as director of business development and marketing at HotU Inc.

>> Edward B. Irvine and Kevin Mitchell have been named cost managers at Rider Hunt Levett and Bailey Ltd. Irvine is a 13-year veteran of the construction industry. He previously served as president and chief executive officer of C.I.M. Management Group Ltd. Mitchell most recently served as a contract surveyor in South Africa.

>> Oceanit has hired Derrick Elfalan and Jay Stone as senior projects engineer and project engineer, respectively. Elfalan was most recently a project manager with Park Engineering and has experience in a variety of areas including planning, water and wastewater systems, and transportation. He will oversee the engineering division at Oceanit. Stone was formerly employed at Belt Collins Hawaii Ltd. and has experience in wastewater design and evaluation. He will be responsible for civil engineering design and project management at Oceanit.

>> John Nielsen, Gwen Yamamoto Lau and Pamela Sumimoto have hired by City Bank. Nielsen will serve as vice president and manager of the bank's commercial real estate division. He joins City Bank after serving as a real estate manager and team leader at CB Richard Ellis. Lau was named vice president and sales manager in the bank's business banking department. Sumimoto will serve as branch manager at City Bank's Kapahulu Branch.

>> Peter A. Colvin has been named executive director of the Pacific Disaster Center on Maui. In addition, Ray Shirkhodai will be director of information systems; James A. Buika, director of customer applications support and training; Stanley G. Goosby, chief scientist and director of applications development; and Christopher C. Chiesa, director of data information resources. PDC furnishes disaster information to local, state and federal emergency officials.

>> Manfred Ferdinand has been named executive chef at the Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort. He will oversee all operations at the Palm Court, Hana Gion, Maui Onion, Sunset Terrace Lounge, banquet functions and all associated staff. Ferdinand most recently served as executive chef at the Renaissance Dubai Hotel.

>> Hawaii Forest and Trail has named Isaac Sylva Jr. as the firm's accounting and operations manager. Sylva was previously with Outrigger Hotels and Resorts for 13 years.

>> CB Richard Ellis has added three new managers to its Bank of Hawaii account. Josie Bidgood, real estate manager, most recently worked for Pacific Century Financial Corp. for 12 years. Scottie Shelton, facilities manager, has worked in several facility positions in Hawaii, including plant operations manager for the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific. Heather Huel, operations and facilities manager, has spent nearly 11 years with Chaney, Brooks & Co., where she was assistant vice president for administration and facilities management.

>> Kanekapolei Sydney Fernandez Fasi has been named director of community relations at E.K. Fernandez Entertainment, Fernandez Fun Factory and Fernandez Events. Fernandez is the current Mrs. Hawaii. She has also worked at Deloitte and Touche and The French Festival of Hawaii.

>> Properties of the Pacific Inc. has hired Darouny Hu as a real estate agent. Hu has eight years of experience, most recently with Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties.

PROMOTIONS

>> Wesley K. Yamamoto has been promoted to vice president of investments at Prudential Securities' Honolulu office. Yamamoto previously served as associate vice president.

>> Alvin Ige has been promoted to vice president and commercial real estate department manager at Finance Factors Ltd. He will be responsible for sales production, underwriting and day-to-day operations of the commercial real estate loan department.

>> DeeAnn Rapozo and Millicent Agena have been promoted at Aston Hotels and Resorts Hawaii. Rapozo will serve as general manager at the Aston Kaha Lani Resort. She will be responsible for oversight of the resort and the condominium association. Agena will replace Rapozo as resort manager at the Aston Kauai Beach Villas. She previously served as corporate executive housekeeper at the property. In addition, Hakim Ouansafi and Lopaka Mansfield were named general managers at the Aston Waikiki Parkside Hotel and Aston Aloha Surf, respectively.

ON THE BOARD

>> Kathy Lau has been named president of the American Business Women's Association, Onipaa Chapter. Other newly elected officers for the 2001-02 term are: Josephine Segovia, vice president; Dee Conquest, secretary; Lila Marantz, corresponding secretary; and Fay Yamura, treasurer.

>> Mark Beede has been elected president of the Aloha Society of Association Executives. Other newly elected officers and directors for 2002 are: Cynthia Hayakawa, vice president; Barbara Kono, secretary; Kathy Castillo, treasurer; Alison Powers, immediate past president; and Roberta Cullen, Tim Lyons, Gail Glushenko, Cheryl Fernandez, Carl Takamura and Lowell Kalapa, directors.

>> Lynne Kaneshiro, president & CEO of Island Title Corp., will chair the steering committee for this year's Building Industry Association Parade of Homes. Other new committee chairs are: Gerald Tanaka, builder manager for North American Mortgage Co., golf; and Mary Flood, vice president of sales & marketing for Schuler Homes, Inc., sponsor. Returning committee chairs are: Donna Tomita, director of marketing for Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii, marketing; Rusty Rasmussen, manager for Castle & Cooke Mortgage, sales; and Nicki Ann Thompson, executive vice president of Hawaii Association of Realtors, banquet.

RECOGNITION

>> Wilson Okamoto and Associates and URS Corp. were awarded the Honor Award during the 36th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards, sponsored by the American Council of Engineering Cos. The companies were recognized for designing a new sewer force main that connects the Hart Street Wastewater Pump Station with the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Honolulu. The project was one of 16 Honor Award winners selected from a field of 155 finalists. Winners were recognized during a banquet March 12 in Washington, D.C.

>> Gentry Homes Ltd. has named Ginny Eji 2001 Salesperson of the Year. Eji is a sales consultant at Sonoma and Prescott, two new upscale developments by Gentry. Stefanie C. Horita won the Sales & Marketing Award for sales at The Carriages, a luxury community. And Cyndie Smith and Wayne Hupalo were named Gentry's Sales Team of the Year for their work at Avalon, a multifamily condominium community.

BACK TO TOP

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Philippine jobless rate falls to 10.3 percent

MANILA >> Philippine unemployment fell in January from a year earlier as farms and retailers hired more workers, the National Statistics Office said.

Unemployment declined to 10.3 percent from 11.3 percent, according to a Bloomberg News report. The rate rose from 9.8 percent in October, without adjusting for seasonal changes. The government reports jobless figures every three months. The overall number of jobless people fell to 3.4 million from 3.6 million in January 2001 as farms hired 7.4 percent more workers and service jobs increased by 7.2 percent, the statistics office said. Industrial jobs fell by 1.8 percent.

Rising consumer spending and farm production helped the economy expand 3.4 percent last year, outpacing most of its Asian neighbors, even as exports and manufacturing shrank. Even so, Philippine unemployment is still among the highest in the region.

Verizon's Seidenberg to become sole CEO

NEW YORK >> Verizon Communications Inc., the largest U.S. local-telephone company, said Ivan Seidenberg will become sole chief executive officer three months earlier than planned.

The move is effective April 1, the carrier said in a Bloomberg News report. Seidenberg shares the CEO title with Charles Lee, who will remain chairman until he retires June 30. Lee, who has been turning over his day-to-day responsibilities to Seidenberg, will become non-executive chairman after that.

The move comes as local-phone carriers like Verizon pare expenses after an economic slump crimped demand for services. Verizon reported a $2 billion fourth-quarter loss on investment declines and costs to eliminate 8,700 jobs.

EU bans Chinese honey over illegal antibiotic

LONDON >> The European Union has imposed an indefinite ban on honey imported from China, its biggest supplier, after finding traces of an illegal antibiotic, according to Bloomberg News.

The ban stems from an investigation in November that prompted the U.K.'s Food Standards Agency to order supermarket chains including J Sainsbury Plc and John Lewis Partnerships Plc's Waitrose to remove all jars of Chinese and blended honey from their shelves.

The shortage created by the exclusion of China has led other beekeeping-nations such as Spain, Argentina and Mexico to raise prices as much as 40 percent.

S&P cuts Fast Retailing debt outlook to 'negative'

YAMAGUCHI CITY, Japan >> Fast Retailing Co.'s credit-rating outlook was cut to "negative" from "stable" by Standard & Poor's Corp. on concern the operator of Japan's Uniqlo chain of discount clothing shops may have a tough time managing a slowdown in its sales.

The U.S. rating agency maintained its "A-" rating on Fast Retailing, reflecting the retailer's "superior market and const positions, high profitability, and very strong balance sheet," according to Bloomberg News.

Indonesian central bank governor sentenced for graft

JAKARTA, Indonesia >> A court sentenced the head of Indonesia's central bank to three years in prison last week for his role in a multimillion-dollar corruption and election campaign finance scam that shook the country's economic standing.

The verdict represents a rare success for Indonesian prosecutors, who have failed dismally in the past to win graft convictions against high-ranking officials. Anti-corruption campaigners hailed the decision.

But despite their jubilation, Sjahril Sabirin said he would not resign his post as bank chief and would appeal -- a move that will allow him to remain free at least until a higher court reviews his case, a process that could take months.

Under Indonesian law, only Parliament has the authority to dismiss the central bank governor. How this would be achieved, however, is unclear as its speaker Akbar Tandjung is currently in detention awaiting trial for a separate corruption case.

In other news ...

TOKYO >> Nissan Motor Co. has reached a deal to sell part of the site of a car assembly plant in western Tokyo for &YEN73.9 billion ($574 million), a move that will help reduce its debt.

TOKYO >> Mobile-phone shipments in Japan fell 28 percent in January compared with a year ago, declining for an eighth straight month as subscribers bought newer handset models less frequently, an industry group said.

Whirlpool CEO's bonus rose by 55% in 2001

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. >> Whirlpool Corp., the biggest U.S. appliance maker, boosted Chief Executive Officer David Whitwam's bonus last year by 55 percent as the company's shares and profit increased, Bloomberg News reported.

Whitwam's 2001 bonus rose to $1.32 million from $850,000 the year before, the company said in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Whirlpool's shares gained 54 percent last year as the company introduced high-priced products such as the $1,400 Duet washing machine and cut jobs as part of an effort to reduce its work force by 6,000, or 10 percent. Per-share earnings, before restructuring costs, increased to $5.45 from $5.20 in 2000.

FleetBoston reduced ex-CEO's 2001 pay 49%

BOSTON >> FleetBoston Financial Corp. cut Terrence Murray's 2001 pay by 49 percent in his last year as chief executive officer as the seventh-largest U.S. bank wrote off loans in Argentina and investments in technology companies.

Murray, 62, was paid a $992,200 salary, a $2.5 million bonus and other compensation totaling $652,280, according to the company's proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bloomberg News reported. He also was given stock options worth $4.6 million on the day they were granted. His pay in 2000 was $17 million.

Shares of FleetBoston fell 2.8 percent in 2001, while the Standard & Poor's index of 24 banks fell 2.4 percent. Last year FleetBoston's earnings slid 76 percent to $931 million from $3.9 billion a year earlier.

Argentina's debt default and the devaluation of its currency cut the Boston-based bank's earnings in the fourth quarter by $628 million, more than any other U.S. bank in the period.

Psychic Miss Cleo a native of Los Angeles

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. >> A birth certificate obtained by the state of Florida shows the woman marketed on cable television as Jamaican psychic Miss Cleo was actually born in Los Angeles, the daughter of American parents.

Miss Cleo -- Caribbean accent and colorful clothing aside -- was born Youree Dell Harris on Aug. 13, 1962, in Los Angeles County Hospital, the document shows. Her parents were from California and Texas.

The state has sued Harris challenging her to prove she really is a renowned shaman from Jamaica. At the same time, the state and Federal Trade Commission have sued two Fort Lauderdale companies -- Access Resource Services Inc. and Psychic Readers Network -- for fraud. The FTC says it acted after getting more than 2,000 complaints.

Merrill president got 4.2% raise after grant

NEW YORK >> Merrill Lynch & Co. gave Stanley O'Neal, its president and chief operating officer, a 4.2 percent raise in 2001, including a $9.4 million option grant he received after being promoted in July.

O'Neal received $22.5 million in 2001, compared with $21.6 million in total compensation in 2000, Bloomberg News reported.

U.K. industry production seen ending slide

LONDON >> U.K. industrial production probably ended a four-month decline in January as a recovery in the U.S. boosted orders to British companies, analysts said.

Production at factories, utilities and mines was likely unchanged in January after declining 0.3 percent in December, according to the median forecast of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Manufacturing -- 80 percent of total output and a fifth of gross domestic product -- probably steadied after sliding to the lowest annual rate since 1991 in December. Cookson Group Plc, a maker of circuitboard components for companies such as Nokia Oyj and Motorola Inc. said the slump is "bottoming out."

"There's an upward global recovery in which the U.S. is leading the way," said Danny Gabay, chief U.K. economist at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. "A rising tide lifts all boats."