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Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Thursday, August 31, 2000

Dixie Grill to open Aiea restaurant

Oahu's second Dixie Grill barbecue and crab restaurant is scheduled to open Sunday on the lower level of the Pecos River Cafe Building in Aiea. The new location will seat 110 people and serve Dixie's usual fare, including ribs, chicken, catfish and the two-pound Bust Yo Belly Burger. Jim Hamachek, former general manager of the first Dixie Grill on Ward Avenue, will oversee the Aiea restaurant.

Aloha to operate daytime freight

Aloha Airlines is converting one of its Boeing 737 aircraft, formerly used for passengers, into an air-freight plane that will fly interisland. Starting tomorrow, Aloha's daytime air cargo service will operate on weekdays between the islands of Oahu, Maui and Hawaii. Aloha is already Hawaii's largest nighttime airfreight carrier. In 1999, the Honolulu-based company's operation carried about 130 million pounds of cargo.

Mortgage rates still below 8%

McLEAN, Va. -- The average rate on a 30-year mortgage stayed below 8 percent for the third week in a row, mortgage broker Freddie Mac said today. The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 7.96 percent this week from 7.99 percent last week.

Freddie Mac also said the average rate on a one-year adjustable mortgage dropped to 7.27 percent this week from 7.37 percent last week. The average rate on a 15-year mortgage was 7.67 percent, compared with 7.72 percent a week ago.

Shipyard strikers reach tentative deal

BATH, Maine -- Negotiators for Bath Iron Works and its largest union tentatively agreed on new contract this morning after all-night talks. A vote to end the strike by 4,800 shipbuilders will be held Sunday, negotiators said. Workers were expected to maintain picket lines until midnight tonight.

Both sides said the proposed agreement addresses the major concerns of union members, who voted to strike Sunday, but some workers seemed enraged as details trickled out and they learned that wages would not be increased over the previous offer.

Top executives at Nordstrom quit

SEATTLE (Bloomberg News) -- Nordstrom Inc. said Chairman and Chief Executive John Whitacre and Chief Financial Officer Michael Stein resigned from the upscale retailer. Two Nordstrom family members, Blake and Bruce Nordstrom, will take the helm.

Blake Nordstrom, 39, was named president and will select a new chief financial officer, the company said. Bruce Nordstrom, 66, was named chairman.

The shakeup comes as Nordstrom struggles to revive sales and better manage its inventory.

The company, which traces its roots to the shoe store that John Nordstrom opened in 1901, has been hurt by lower sales, increased costs and price markdowns. Its stock has lost more than a third of its value this year.