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Wahiawa talks set for today

Negotiations were scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. today between Wahiawa General Hospital management and striking nurses.

The two sides met Friday at the Hawaii Employers Council but no agreement was reached after more than 14 hours of discussion and negotiation. The hospital asked to reconvene the meeting today, according to the Hawaii Nurses Association, which represents the more than 60 nurses who have been on strike for 11 weeks.

Scott Foster, spokesman for the union, said all but five of the 60 striking nurses have found full-time or part-time jobs at other hospitals.

Bankoh donates $25,000 to HPU

Bank of Hawaii has donated $25,000 to support the Hawaii Pacific University President's Fund that helps finance special projects and opportunities that develop throughout the year.

President's Fund members support HPU at a leadership-giving level and include trustees, alumni, community friends, and corporations.

Key projects are identified and selected each year to receive support. In 2002, 92 members contributed more than $263,000 to the campaign, which went toward the $1 million expansion of the media and technology center.

The Frear Center, set to open next month, will feature state-of-the-art teaching and learning laboratories to support the colleges of professional studies, communication and business administration.

Hawaiian Air rated fifth on service

Hawaiian Airlines has been rated the fifth-best airline in the nation for service by readers of Travel + Leisure magazine.

The domestic carriers ranked ahead of Hawaiian were Midwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines.

Travel + Leisure's service survey appeared in the magazine's June edition. The seventh annual study included rankings of the top domestic and international airlines, cruise lines, and hotels.

Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian's president and chief operating officer, credited the airline's employees for the high ranking.

"We're delighted to receive this honor as it reflects the high standards of professionalism that our employees strive for, especially since it conveys the opinion of the people who matter most in our business, that being our customers," Dunkerley said.

Volunteers seek Maui fair boost

WAILUKU >> Volunteer organizers hope to increase the gate attendance beyond 100,000 at the 81st annual Maui County Fair on Oct. 2-5, one of the largest single annual events on the Valley Isle.

Last year's total attendance for the four-day event was 96,745.

The event, including a number of exhibits featuring business and new technology, will take place at the War Memorial complex in Wailuku.

The fair is the biggest annual fundraising event For many Maui nonprofit groups.

For more information about the fair, including corporate sponsorships, call Ashley Stepanek at Gilbert & Associates, 871-6230, ext. 15, or e-mail ashley@gilbertadvertising.com.

Regulators OK PeopleSoft deal

SAN FRANCISCO >> Business software maker PeopleSoft Inc. said yesterday that federal antitrust regulators have approved its proposed $1.75 billion acquisition of rival J.D. Edwards Inc., bolstering its efforts to escape a hostile $6.3 billion takeover bid by Oracle Corp.

With the Justice Department standing aside, the path is clear for Pleasanton-based PeopleSoft to complete its cash-and-stock purchase of Denver-based J.D. Edwards on Thursday.

Japan Central Bank holds policy steady

TOKYO >> Japan's central bank kept its monetary policy unchanged today, leaving ample cash in the system to maintain stability as the nation fights a long slowdown.

The Bank of Japan's policy board, ending a two-day meeting that began yesterday, voted unanimously to keep the target of extra cash in the financial system at a range of between $229 billion to $255 billion.

That decision had been widely expected. The bank reiterated it stood ready to provide more liquidity if any risks of market instability arise.

The Bank of Japan has kept interest rates virtually at zero since 2001 to help the nation's efforts to emerge from a decade-long downturn.

Economy Minister Heizo Takenaka said today that Japan will suffer low growth for some time until reforms kick in to achieve sustainable growth.

"We are proceeding down a narrow path but we have not strayed from that path," Takenaka said.

In other news ...

>> Recent scandals notwithstanding, 87 percent of companies believe they should operate ethically, according to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey of corporate citizenship.

>> An Illinois appeals court ruled yesterday a state judge must reconsider his decision to reduce the size of a bond Philip Morris USA must post for its appeal of a $10.1 billion lawsuit over light cigarettes.

>> United Airlines mechanics voted overwhelmingly to have the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association represent them, dumping the Machinists' union two months after pay cuts took effect at the bankrupt airline.

>> Digital camera sales in North America are expected to surpass film camera sales this year, and nearly quadruple them by 2008, according to the InfoTrends Research Group of Norwell, Mass.

>> The network of foreign accounting firms once linked to Arthur Andersen LLP will pay $40 million to resolve lawsuits stemming from Enron Corp.'s collapse two years ago.