Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Thursday, March 4, 1999
A Kailua company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January after its landlord sought eviction has paid $40,000 for a six-week reprieve. Kailua company gets reprieve
Capital Resources International Inc., subleasing the Kailua Town Center, handed a $40,000 check to landlord Kaneohe Ranch Co. during a hearing yesterday before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King. The impromptu offer, reluctantly accepted by Kaneohe Ranch, narrowly avoided a ruling by King that would have allowed the tenant's eviction for nonpayment of rent and other expenses.
King at the outset of yesterday's hearing said he was inclined to grant the eviction because Capital Resources poses a "substantial risk." Calling the $40,000 a "demonstration of good faith," King postponed his decision on the eviction pending a final hearing April 12.
Landowner Kaneohe Ranch and prime leaseholder Pacific Union Association of Seventh-Day Adventists since September have been trying to evict Capital Resources from the 100,000-square-foot property on Hekili Street, saying the company owes more than $200,000 in rent, taxes and insurance. The landlord in Circuit Court last year obtained a stipulation that Capital Resources would vacate the property if $190,000 in back rent wasn't paid by Jan. 11. But Capital Resources instead filed for bankruptcy that day, putting creditors at bay and its lease under control of the bankruptcy court.
Building contracts in Hawaii drop 41%
The value of Hawaii construction contracts awarded in January plunged 41 percent, according to a monthly report. Some $92.4 million worth of contracts were issued, compared with $157.5 million in January 1998, said the F.W. Dodge division of McGraw-Hill Cos. Steep drops were recorded in residential, commercial and government projects. In 1998, contract values fell 1.2 percent throughout the state, to $1.65 billion, according to F.W. Dodge.
Study says ads lured many to isles
The emergency $10 million advertising campaign that the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau launched in 1997 to attack a slump in tourist arrivals paid off, according to a market study. The campaign brought in an estimated 695,000 people in the following 14 months and they spent $1.1 billion in the islands, generating $78 million in tax revenues, said the market research firm Longwoods International. Longwoods, hired by HVCB to evaluate the campaign's effectiveness, said the $4 million spent on the mainland brought in 425,000 people and the $6 million spent in Japan attracted 270,000.
Goldman partners to vote on IPO
NEW YORK -- The partners at Goldman Sachs Group LP, the last of Wall Street's large private investment banks, will vote next week on whether to sell a small stake in the firm to the public. The firm's 220 partners are to vote on the deal Monday. If approved, it would clear the way for a stock sale of 10 percent to 15 percent of the firm in May or June. Hawaii's Bishop Estate owns about 10 percent of Goldman.
Mortgage rates rise above 7%
WASHINGTON -- The average interest rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose above 7 percent this week, the highest level in nine months, Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, said today. The average increased for the fifth consecutive week to 7.06 percent, compared with 6.89 percent last week. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 6.70 percent this week, the highest since mid-June and up from 6.51 percent last week. One-year adjustable-rate mortgages, averaged initial rate of 5.74 percent, up from 5.71 percent last week.
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