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HAWAII
Iolani wins Economics Challenge
Two high school teams from Iolani School have won the Island Insurance Economics Challenge for the third consecutive year.
The Iolani students won both the David Ricardo division and the Adam Smith division by defeating Maryknoll School in the Quiz Bowl finals of both divisions.
The winners will represent Hawaii in the Western Regional competition in San Francisco at the San Francisco Reserve Bank on April 23. Regional winners will compete in the national championship on May 19 to 21 in New York City.
Winning the David Ricardo division were Evan Kam, Yoichi Sagawa, Cody Silva and Thanh Vu. The winners of the Adam Smith division were Jonah Yuen, Nathan Yang, Marisa Ideta and Alex Chun. The Adam Smith teams from Iolani have won the national title in the Economics Challenge for the past two years.
The local Economics Challenge, hosted by the Hawaii Council on Economic Education Thursday at the University of Hawaii, featured 206 students from nine Hawaii private and public high schools.
NATION
Outsourcer Virtusa files for IPO
WASHINGTON » Outsourcing provider
Virtusa Corp. yesterday filed for an initial public offering worth up to $92 million.
The Westborough, Mass.-based company didn't disclose how many shares will be offered, nor did it provide an estimated price range for its IPO. in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company, which provides information-technology outsourcing services, said it expects to use about $30 million of the net proceeds from the offering to build a new facility in Hyderabad, India. The balance of the net proceeds will be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including to finance expansion of the company's global delivery centers in Chennai, India, and Colombo, Sri Lanka.
JP Morgan, Bear Stearns & Co., Cowen and Co. and William Blair & Co. are listed as underwriters for the offering.
The company said it has applied to list its stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "VRTU."
Court gives Vonage reprieve
ALEXANDRIA, Va. » Internet phone company
Vonage Holdings Corp. will be barred from signing up new customers as punishment for infringing on patents held by
Verizon Communications Inc., under an injunction ordered Friday.
The injunction was to take effect Thursday, but the company was granted a temporary stay from U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., which will allow Vonage to sign up new customers until the court rules on its appeal.
The order issued by U.S. District Court Judge Claude Hilton is less severe than the punishment he initially proposed -- a blanket injunction that might have disrupted phone service for all 2.2 million of Vonage's existing customers.
The injunction comes a month after a jury in Alexandria, Va., found that Vonage infringed on three patents held by Verizon.
Vonage, based in Holmdel, N.J., has been optimistic about its chances of overturning the verdict on appeal.
HP hopes to draw out calc buffs
SAN FRANCISCO » Technology company
Hewlett-Packard Co. is marking its 35th year in the handheld calculator business by encouraging the gadget's most devoted fans to submit short YouTube-style documentary films conveying their affinity for the devices.
Eight finalists will win a trip to Hollywood this summer for the HP Golden Calculator Awards ceremony, and the audience favorite wins a $3,000 high-definition plasma television set.
Analysts said the campaign is part of a growing trend among large companies to incorporate user-generated content into advertisements, turning a small, influential group of customers into marketers.
BUSINESS PULSE