Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Monday, March 19, 2001
Hawaiian Electric stock downgraded
Analyst Joe Coyle at the investment firm Edward Jones today downgraded Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. shares to "sell" from his previous "hold" recommendation.
Analysts look to size of tomorrow's Fed rate cut
Washington >> The biggest question on investors' minds will be by how much, rather than if, the Federal Reserve will cut rates tomorrow. Given the continued weakness in the U.S. economy, coupled with further deterioration in Japan as well as Europe, the Fed is broadly expected to cut the federal funds rate by at least half a percentage point. But some anticipate easing by three-quarters of a point, in part because of the plunge in U.S. equities in recent weeks.With both the Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq hammered in recent weeks, cries of dismay on Wall Street are getting only louder. With the Dow below the psychologically critical 10,000 and Nasdaq under 2,000, many investors hope for relief in the form of massive rate cuts to buoy the markets. There is also fear that the rapid rise of the dollar against both the Japanese yen and the euro would only hurt U.S. manufacturers, as a strong dollar would make domestic products less competitive than their imported counterparts. A hefty rate cut would stem the greenback's appreciation against other major currencies.
Japan bank to push interest rates near zero
Tokyo >> The Bank of Japan will push interest rates close to zero and told government policymakers they will now have to do their share to stop the economy sinking into recession.The move comes three weeks after the central bank cut its key interbank lending rates 10 basis points to 0.15 percent. Together, that takes back the quarter-point increase Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami drove through in August last year, arguing the economy was in good enough shape to stand higher borrowing costs.
"The ball is back in the court of the politicians," said Andrew Milligan, global strategist at Standard Life Investments in Edinburgh, Scotland, which manages 80 billion pounds ($116 billion). "The political establishment has got to make some very difficult decisions."
Travelocity.com expands reservations network
Fort Worth, Texas, >> Travelocity.com Inc. and Hotel Reservations Network Inc. said they extended their affiliation agreement through July 2005 and expanded it to include Hotel Reservations' vacation rentals.The expanded agreement also speeds up the rate at which Travelocity.com's equity rights in Hotel Reservations are vested, the companies said in a statement. Travelocity.com, the Internet- based travel service, had 1.77 million shares of Hotel Reservations as of March.
Hotel Reservations is the largest broker of discounted hotel rooms over the Internet.