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Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Thursday, September 14, 2000

Strike against GM
is no act

By Ken Ige, Star-Bulletin
Al Waterson and about 20 others picket Cutter Chevrolet
on Kapiolani Boulevard yesterday as part of nationwide
rallies against General Motors Corp. for its use of nonunion
actors in commercials during the ongoing strike against the
advertising industry. The Screen Actors Guild and the
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists,
which together represent 135,000 actors, went on
strike May 1 in a dispute over the residuals
performers earn for TV commercials. The two
sides in the 19-week-old strike returned to the
bargaining table yesterday for the first time in
nearly two months and agreed to continue
talking at least through today. At stake for
the advertisers are marketing needs driven
by the fall TV season, the Olympics and the
new model year for automakers. Actors,
meanwhile, are collectively losing out on
nearly $2 million a day from radio and TV ads.

---

Wellness tourism
classes set

Expanding opportunities and business skills for health and wellness service providers in Hawaii will be presented during a yearlong project by the Hawaii Women's Business Center.

The business assistance program developed from a Health and Wellness Tourism Conference, "Making it Happen for Hawaii," held in May on Oahu.

The women's center points out that health and wellness tourism services include not only hotel spas and resorts but day spas run by small business owners; psychologists and social workers specializing in personal development; nutritionists; acupuncturists; fitness specialists; Hawaiian cultural tour guides and Chinese physicians.

The Hawaii Ecotourism Association will join the center in holding workshops, starting Sept. 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hale Alakai Building, No. 102, Windward Community College.

The theme is "Health & Wellness Tourism: Reaching the Customer Through the Internet."

Information will be presented about the possibilities, process and liabilities of developing and marketing over the Internet and also cooperative marketing.

Participants will have an opportunity to link with other health and wellness service providers to develop alliances and networks.

The Hawaii Women's Business Center will compile and publish a statewide Health and Wellness Tourism Directory to be published online and in hard copy.

For more information or to register for the workshop, call 522-8136, ext. 230.

Businesses also can sign up with the Women's Business Center at www.hawaiiwbc.org.

The cost of the workshop is $40. Some scholarships are available.

J.C. Penney slashes dividend 56 percent

PLANO, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co., one of the country's largest department store chains, is cutting its quarterly dividend to 12.5 cents a share, or nearly 57 percent, from 28.75 cents and use the extra cash to invest more in its department stores and Eckerd drugstores.

J.C. Penney cited "industry conditions" for the move and said the new rate will be in line with the dividend rates of its competitors. The dividend cut is J.C. Penney's second in less than a year. Last December, the company reduced its quarterly dividend to 28.75 cents a share from 54.5 cents, also to spend more on its operations. The company will pay its next quarterly dividend on Nov. 1 to shareholders of record Oct. 10.

Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney operates about 1,150 JC Penney department stores and about 2,900 Eckerd drugstores. Its stock was trading at $13.75 this morning, not much above its 52-week low of $13 on April 19.

Mortgage rates stay below 8% mark

WASHINGTON -- Mortgage rates edged down again this week with rates on 30-year mortgages below the 8 percent mark for the fifth week in a row. The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages slipped to 7.88 percent, down from 7.94 percent reached the previous week, according to a survey by Freddie Mac, the mortgage company. Fifteen-year mortgages dipped to an average 7.60 percent this week from 7.65 percent last week. One-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to an average initial rate of 7.26 percent compared with last week's rate of 7.33 percent.

Janus Fund closed to new investors

Janus Capital closed its flagship Janus Fund to new investors yesterday, its fifth fund closing this year.

The assets of Janus have nearly tripled since the beginning of last year, and to effectively manage its rapidly expanding assets, the company has now closed half of its 16 equity funds.

Janus Fund will remain open to existing investors and retirement plan contributors. Janus is the best-selling mutual fund firm in the industry.