Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Tuesday, August 5, 1997

Duty Free appoints
new Hawaii president

Edward J. Brennan, executive vice president of DFS-Hawaii, has been named president of the local duty free and retail company, replacing John Reed, who held the post for the last nine years.

Reed, a 19-year executive of parent firm DFS Group Ltd., becomes chairman of Pacific retail development for the company.

Brennan, recently recruited from Federated Department Stores Inc., has held merchandising and operations posts in Federated's Macy's stores for 16 years and most recently was vice president and general merchandising manager of Macy's East.

Hawaiian Trust joins bank;
retains Boston manager

The 99-year-old Hawaiian Trust Co. is being merged into Bank of Hawaii and by the end of September will have a new name, Pacific Century Trust Co., reflecting the name of the bank's parent company, Pacific Century Financial Corp.

Bank spokesman Lance Tanaka said the merger is not expected to cost any of the trust company's 300 employees their jobs.

In a separate announcement, Boston-based State Street Bank & Trust Co. said it has been retained to manage $8 billion of Hawaiian Trust's $12 billion in assets. State Street manages more than $350 billion in worldwide investments.

Neiman Marcus
picks manager for isle store

A Honolulu native has been named vice president and general manager of the Neiman Marcus store under construction at Ala Moana Center.

Al Tomonari will start work at the upscale store in January in preparation for its October 1998 opening.

Tomonari, 51, left Hawaii for the mainland 25 years ago. He worked for Macy's in New York City and Bullock's in California before joining Neiman Marcus in 1991 as merchandise manager at its store in Beverly Hills, Calif. Tomonari said the store would appeal to local residents and tourists.

Continental pilots
threaten holiday strike

HOUSTON -- Continental Airlines Inc. pilots are threatening a strike during this year's peak holiday travel season if they are unable to come to terms on a new contract with the carrier.

But industry analysts said it was unlikely federal mediators would allow them to break off talks that quickly, and a Continental spokesman said the carrier still expected to come to terms with the union before an Oct. 1 deadline. Negotiators with the Independent Association of Continental Pilots and the Houston-based carrier were set to resume talks in Florida today.

Economic indicator
unchanged in June

NEW YORK -- An indicator of the economy's course was unchanged in June, a weaker performance than analysts had expected but not enough to ease inflation jitters on Wall Street.

The Index of Leading Economic Indicators held steady at May's level of 103.8, the Conference Board reported today. Analysts had forecast a 0.4 percent increase.

The unchanged performance in June followed an increase in May of 0.3 percent and a 0.1 percent decline in April.

Aviation negotiators
report little progress

TOKYO -- Japan and the United States made little progress today on the second day of a three-day negotiating session aimed at reaching an agreement on how to increase access to each other's aviation markets.

Part of the dispute focuses on the 1952 bilateral treaty that allows three U.S. carriers -- Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and Federal Express Corp. -- to expand flights and add new Asian routes through Japanese airports.

Only one Japanese competitor, Japan Airlines, enjoys the same privileges in U.S. markets. Tokyo wants All Nippon Airways to be added to the list.

A Transportation Ministry official said the United States argued today that Japan should pledge its willingness to conclude an "open skies" agreement in the future as a condition for adding All Nippon Airways now.