Guam economy continues to struggle

Guam continues to feel the aftershocks of the recession that rocked the islands' economy during the late 1990s, according to a new study.

In the annual Guam Economic Report released yesterday, Bank of Hawaii economist Wali Osman forecasted that Guam's economy will be flat at best this year. In the worst case, it could slouch back to the recessionary levels of 1999, he said.

Osman noted that military spending is up only modestly while tourism arrivals from Japan continue to be weak.

One bright spot is tourism from Korea. The economist said visitor arrivals from Korea were up 6.8 percent last year and, if promises of increased flights from Korea materialize, it could boost Guam's overall visitor arrivals by 5 percent to 7 percent, Osman said.

Appeals court reworking opinion in pilot lawsuit

A federal appeals court panel said yesterday it has withdrawn an opinion that supported the claims of a Hawaiian Airlines pilot who accused company officials of illegally entering his secure Internet site.

The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in January that a California court erred when it did not order a trial on Robert Konop's claims that airline officials violated the Wiretap Act and other federal laws in 1995 by reading the Web site. The ruling was touted as a victory for operators of private Web sites who want to guard against trespassers. Konop, who lives in Playa del Rey, Calif., and has represented himself in the lawsuit, said the appellate panel's decision to withdraw the opinion is not a defeat. He said he expects the San Francisco-based panel to merely rewrite the ruling to clarify points that could have wide-ranging implications for Internet communications and law enforcement.

In other news ...

TOKYO >> Japan's main stock index plunged today to a 17-year low and broke the psychologically important 11,000-point level amid renewed concerns about the Japanese economy and its financial system. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 209.64 points to 10,979.76.