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Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Thursday, March 30, 2000

China House to open second Oahu outlet

China House, a well-known restaurant at Ala Moana Center, will open a second restaurant in the Chinatown Cultural Plaza downtown on Beretania Street. To be developed at a cost of $1.2 million, China House Downtown will be twice as big as the original and will feature a modern Hong Kong design with crystal chandeliers, said owner Henry Chu.

Maui hotel responds to union's claims

The Grand Wailea Resort on Maui says it has given the International Longshore & Warehouse Union all the information they can and it is the union, not the hotel, that is stalling contract negotiations. The hotel, owned by KSL Recreation Corp., responded yesterday to an ILWU unfair labor practices compliant that said the hotel is illegally refusing to give the union information it needs to conduct bargaining. A hotel spokeswoman said the resort was asked for the names and addresses of customers and will not give out that confidential information. The hotel also said it was ready to go to the bargaining table today but the ILWU canceled a negotiating session.

U.S. central banker to speak at Hilton

William Poole, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, will be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Hawaii Council on Economic Education at noon Tuesday, April 25, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom.

Poole will talk about the critical role of economic education in the conduct of monetary policy. The fee for the luncheon is $50 per person and the deadline for reservations is April 14. Phone 956-7009 or fax 956-9564 to make reservations.

Hedge fund company to liquidate business

NEW YORK -- Troubled U.S. hedge fund Tiger Management LLC said today it would close all six of its funds, including its flagship Jaguar fund, and return capital to stakeholders, a company spokesman said.

Tiger chief Julian Robertson, 68, told investors in a letter he had already largely liquidated Tiger's portfolio and was ready to return up to 75 percent of about $6 billion in assets to investors in cash immediately, the spokesman said.

The company said it decided to close the funds after steep losses suffered by investments in so-called "old economy" stocks that were left behind as technology issues powered to huge gains in the stock market.

"The result of the demise of value investing and investor withdrawals has been financial erosion, stressful to us all. And there is no real indication that a quick end is in sight," Robertson said in his letter.

Microsoft: Our offer to Feds substantial

SEATTLE -- Steve Ballmer, Microsoft Corp.'s president and chief executive, told employees via e-mail this week that the company's efforts to resolve its federal antitrust case have led to substantial settlement offers.

Ballmer reassured employees in a companywide e-mail sent Monday that press reports of the company's settlement offer being inadequate were not accurate, and that the company continues to work with the U.S. Justice Department and the 19 states that filed antitrust suits against it. Attorneys for Microsoft are believed to be in talks with the government.