HMSA bonds receives vote of confidence

The national ratings firm Standard & Poor's today affirmed its previous A-plus rating for Hawaii Medical Services Association, saying the financial outlook for Hawaii's biggest medical plan business is stable.

Among the positive factors cited were HMSA's leading market position, "excellent managed-care capabilities," strong capitalization and a strong earnings profile. HMSA, which is expected to maintain enrollment of about 620,000 members through 2002, is expected to show pre-tax income of between $5 million and $10 million this year.

Not counting income from investments, however, HMSA is likely to "continue to incur operating losses in the near term," S&P said. HMSA had an operating loss of $49 million last year.

Boyd earnings increase nearly 13 percent

The Boyd Gaming Corp. casino hotels in Las Vegas that are most favored by Hawaii residents had a 5.3 percent dip in third-quarter earnings due to a fall-off in business after the Sept. 11 terrorist incidents, the company said today.

The downtown Las Vegas properties, including the California Hotel which gets most of its business from Hawaii, had combined earnings of $8.9 million in the three months through Sept. 30, before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, compared to $9.4 million in the 2000 quarter.

Revenues for that group were $55 million, up 1.9 percent from $54 million a year ago. Included were revenues of $11.2 million from Honolulu-based Hawaii-Las Vegas tour packager Vacations Hawaii, up slightly from a year-earlier $10.9 million. As a whole Boyd, which has spread well beyond Nevada in recent years, had earnings of $53.7 million, up 12.9 percent from $47.6 million in the 2002 quarter.

Bethlehem Steel files for bankruptcy protection

New York >> Bethlehem Steel Corp., which provided the steel for the Golden Gate Bridge and the U.S. Supreme Court building, filed for bankruptcy protection today after competition from inexpensive foreign steel and slowing demand left it saddled with debt and retiree liabilities. The fifth-largest U.S. steelmaker said it has $4.2 billion in assets and $4.5 billion in debt in a Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. The company, which has lost money five quarters in a row, has 13,000 employees and about $3 billion in retiree health-care liabilities.

Japanese surplus shrinks for ninth straight month

TOKYO >> Japan's current account surplus shrank for the ninth straight month in August, government data showed today, underscoring concerns that a worldwide economic slowdown is pushing the groggy economy further against the ropes. The Ministry of Finance said the surplus, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, fell 27.1 percent in August from a year earlier to 708.6 billion yen ($5.84 billion). Japan's trade surplus shrank 37.3 percent to 482.8 billion yen as a decelerating global economy, particularly in the high-tech sector, hit the world's second-biggest economy.

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[TAKING NOTICE]

ON THE BOARD

>> Patrick Yamada and Betty Lou Larson have been named officers of the Rental Housing Trust Fund Advisory Commission for the 2001-02 term. Yamada and Larson will serve as chairperson and vice-chairperson, respectively.

RECOGNITION

>> Among the honors presented by the Hawaii State Bar Association at its recent annual luncheon was a Kie Award to Dyan M. Medeiros for her volunteer legal work with Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii's Neighborhood Legal Clinics. The Golden Gavel Award went to Chief Justice Ronald Moon for his innovative leadership of the judiciary. The Bar's Young Lawyers Division presented the Justice Award to attorney Michael Broderick, executive director of the Hawaii Justice Foundation. Paulette Suwa, continuing legal education and program manager for the Bar Association, was presented with the Liberty Bell Award; and second-year University of Hawaii law student Becky Chesthut was awarded the Best Law Student Paper Award.