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HAWAII
Outrigger picks up 3 condo contracts
Outrigger Enterprises has expanded its condominium collection by taking over management contracts for three properties on Oahu, Maui and Kauai.
The properties include the newly remodeled Aina Nalu Resort on Maui, the Regency on Beach Walk, which is next to the Waikiki Beach Walk revitalization project, and the Waipouli Beach Resort on Kauai.
Outrigger's condominium collection offers primarily offers low-rise, beachfront properties with studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
A&B maintains its dividend
Alexander & Baldwin Inc. maintained its dividend at 25 cents for the upcoming quarter, following its first increase in eight years.
Next quarter's payout, which was announced late Thursday, will be distributed on Sept. 7 to shareholders as of Aug. 3.
A&B's dividend, the equivalent of $1 a share on an annual basis, would yield a rate of 2.4 percent based on yesterday's closing price of $41.89.
NATION
Bush limits property seizures
WASHINGTON » President Bush ordered yesterday that federal agencies cannot seize private property except for public projects such as hospitals or roads. The move occurred on the one-year anniversary of a controversial Supreme Court decision that gave local governments broad power to bulldoze people's homes for commercial development.
The majority opinion in the Supreme Court case involving New London, Conn., homeowners limited the homeowners' rights by saying local governments could take private property for purely economic development-related projects because the motive was to bring more jobs and tax revenue to a city.
But the court also noted that states are free to pass additional protections if they see fit. In a backlash to the decision, many have done so, prohibiting so-called takings for shopping malls or other private projects.
Verizon exiting Airfone business
Verizon Airfone, whose handsets have graced the backs of airline seats for more than two decades, will end its phone service on commercial airliners before the end of the year.
Verizon Communications, Airfone's parent company, has decided instead to focus on its faster-growing broadband, cellular and television businesses, Jim Pilcher, the director of marketing at Verizon Airfone, said yesterday.
Though Pilcher declined to say how many customers Airfone has, industry analysts said the service was rarely used. Verizon, they said, would have had to spend heavily to install newer, more compelling technology.
Airfone, which Verizon acquired when it bought GTE in 2000, has phones in about 1,000 planes operated by Continental, Delta, United Airlines and US Airways. The company will work with the airlines to figure out how to remove the phones and other equipment from the planes.
SEC reviewing Home Depot options
WASHINGTON » The
Home Depot Inc. disclosed yesterday that the Securities and Exchange Commission had begun an informal inquiry into its practices for granting stock options.
The disclosure by the nation's largest home-improvement chain came a week after it said its own review had turned up five instances of options having been awarded to executives at below-market prices. In three of the five instances, the market price of company stock on the award date was higher than that on the date the exercise price was determined. In all five, the company's board of directors approved the options grants retroactively.
WORLD
Conrad Black omitted assets, Justice Department alleges
Conrad Black, the former newspaper publisher indicted for racketeering, failed to disclose the full extent of his holdings, said Justice Department prosecutors seeking the possible revocation of his $20 million bail.
Black omitted from a sealed financial affidavit at least $6 million in assets and $9 million more available to him, the government said yesterday in a filing in Chicago federal court. Prosecutors are pressing for the immediate sale of his Palm Beach, Fla., home to ensure its net equity is available to the government as part of his bail.
The former chairman of Hollinger International Inc., once among the world's largest publishers of English-language newspapers, Black is accused of enriching himself and associates at shareholders' expense. Earlier this week, prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve that Black, 61, defaulted on his Palm Beach mortgage and that the house was in danger of being foreclosed on by either the lender or the Canadian government to whom he owes back taxes.
Consortium offers $12 billion for Univision
A consortium led by
Grupo Televisa, the Mexican television giant, made an offer of about $12 billion or $36 a share yesterday for
Univision, the Spanish-language broadcast network, according to people involved in the auction. The report of the bid, equaling $36 a share, came after a chaotic week in which three investors dropped out of the group over concerns that it was overpaying.
The bid now sets the stage for a showdown this weekend as Univision's board weighs whether to accept the offer, try to push Televisa to raise its bid or decide against selling the company entirely.
Televisa's offer, which is backed by Cascade Investment, the investment firm controlled by Bill Gates, and Bain Capital, the private equity firm, ended a week of speculation about whether the consortium would actually follow through with an offer.
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