Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Tuesday, August 31, 1999
Construction deals up 12% in Hawaii
Contracts written in July for future construction in Hawaii were up 12 percent in value last month, at $125.7 million from $112.6 million in July 1998, according to a monthly report.The biggest boost was in "nonbuilding" contracts, projects such as streets, bridges, harbor developments and airports, which were up 37 percent at $41.7 million last month, from $17.6 million in the year-earlier month. Residential construction contracts written in July were down 23 percent at $44 million, from $57.2 million in July 1998.
The F.W. Dodge division of the McGraw-Hill Cos., which monitors the construction industry nationwide, said total contracts worth $960.5 million were written in Hawaii in the first seven months of 1999, up 11 percent from $861.7 million in the same period last year.
Isle attorney leads telecom group
Former Hawaii attorney Hoyt H. Zia has been named executive director of the Honolulu-based Pacific Telecommunications Council, succeeding Richard Barber, who held the post for 19 years. Zia, who provided legal representation to businesses in Hawaii that included Amfac/JMB Hawaii Inc. and Motorola Inc., has spent the last four years in the Clinton administration as chief counsel for export administration in the Department of Commerce. In that post he worked in U.S. trade policy and handled negotiations on export control issues in Asia. The council is a center for the exchange of information on Pacific Rim telecommunications and technology issues and holds a major international conference in Honolulu each year.
Schuler to continue buying back stock
Schuler Homes Inc. is keeping its stock repurchase program alive until the end of next year. The company, authorized by its board of directors last November to spend up to $10 million to buy its own stock on the open market when conditions are right, said it has already bought in 504,000 shares for just under $3.6 million, or about $7.12 a share. Schuler, traded on the Nasdaq, was selling for just under $7 in noon trading today.
Bankoh links with online loan site
Bank of Hawaii has joined the roster of lenders in an Internet small-business loan program offered through www.loanwise.com. Qualified small businesses can shop for loans at the site, compare interest rates and conditions and get approval in minutes, said officials of the bank and the Internet site. Loanwise.com is a product of a business called NetEarnings (www.netearnings.com) and was developed in association with San Rafael, Calif.-based Fair, Isaac & Co., which provides technology to banks.
Neiman Marcus net tumbles 83 percent
NEW YORK -- Neiman Marcus Group Inc. today said its fourth quarter earnings fell sharply because of price markdowns and a promotional program it had shifted to the third quarter, but the upscale retailer's profit still edged out Wall Street estimates.Net income fell 83 percent to $2.7 million, or 6 cents a share, for the quarter ended July 31 from $16.2 million, or 33 cents a share, last year. Wall Street expected the company to earn 5 cents a share. Revenues at the Chestnut Hill, Mass.-based retailer increased 5.3 percent to $565.4 million from $536.7 million in the fourth quarter of 1998. The company opened a department store at Ala Moana Center last year.