Isle consumer confidence at low point, survey says

Hawaii's consumer confidence index hit its lowest point in November since tracking began in December 1999.

The importance of the economy soared to new highs, according to the Hawaii Consumer Confidence Index, released yesterday. More than 7 in 10 residents feel the economy is the most important issue facing the state -- a new record exceeding the one set in April 1999, when 55 percent of residents named the economy as most important.

The index plummeted 25 percent, from 110 to 83, from June to November. The trend mirrors the National U.S. Consumer Confidence Index, which fell 27 percent from July to October.

The decline has been driven by a drop in consumer ratings of general business conditions and the perceived availability of jobs in Hawaii.

A large majority of residents favor more economic stimuli, preferring supply-side solutions such as business tax cuts.

Residents also showed strong support for initiatives aimed at retaining jobs in the state. Other findings included increased support for gambling, although the majority of residents still oppose the issue, and economic diversification.

Hawaii's residents also said they expected to spent $836 on Christmas gifts this year, down 11 percent from last year's estimated $942, but still above the national average.

The survey, conducted by OmniTrak Group Inc., was sponsored by the Hawaii Business Roundtable, Pacific Resources Partnership and the Honolulu Advertiser.

Microsoft must surrender browser control, states say

WASHINGTON >> Microsoft Corp. would be forced to forfeit control of its Internet Explorer Web browser under a proposal by nine states seeking tough antitrust remedies against the largest software company.

The states are challenging a proposed settlement of the 312- year-old case signed by the Bush administration and nine other states. It will be up to a federal judge to decide whether the settlement is acceptable or to adopt the harsher approach of the dissenting states. The company also should be compelled to give computer makers the choice of installing its Windows operating system without bundled software applications, the states said in a court filing.

The dissenting states, led by California, Iowa, Massachusetts and Connecticut, rejected the settlement that the U.S. Justice Department announced Nov. 2. They said it's an insufficient check on Microsoft's Windows monopoly, the operating system that runs 95 percent of the world's personal computers.

Microsoft, in a statement, said the additional remedies would be "extreme" and called the settlement "a fair and reasonable compromise."

Intel, Advanced Micro boost sales targets

SANTA CLARA, Calif. >> Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the biggest makers of personal-computer processors, raised their fourth-quarter sales targets on a surge of holiday buying that's propping up demand.

Intel's shares fell 92 cents to $33.24 today while AMD's stock jumped $1.60 to $17.85.

Intel said revenue will be $6.7 billion to $6.9 billion, compared with an October estimate for $6.2 billion to $6.8 billion.

Rival Advanced Micro said sales will climb at least 10 percent from the third quarter's $765.9 million, beating analysts' highest forecasts.

Matsushita expects to cut 10,000 workers

OSAKA >> Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said it will cut more than 10,000 jobs through incentive payments to workers who take incentive payments to leave voluntarily, 2,000 more than originally planned.

More workers than expected at the largest consumer electronics maker applied for incentive payments to quit, said company spokesman Masaya Iwakiri, confirming part of a report earlier yesterday in the Nihon Keizai newspaper.

Osaka-based Matsushita hasn't determined how much the additional job cuts will cost or whether the move will result in a wider-than-expected loss for the company's fiscal year ending March 31, Iwakiri said.

Korea's credit card boom props up economy

SEOUL >> Lee Soon Ho pays for lunch with a credit card these days, choosing plastic over cash to help cut his tax bill and improve his chances in a monthly lottery.

"I pay anything between 10,000 won ($7.80) and 1.5 million won with my credit card," the 32-year-old life insurance employee said. "Two years ago, I wouldn't have charged anything less than 50,000 won."

Credit card use in Korea more than doubled since 1999 when the government introduced lotteries and other incentives to boost tax returns, especially from small businesses, which mostly handled cash. Card-issuers and retailers have reaped the rewards, cushioning an economy growing at its slowest pace in three years because of slumping exports.

The boom has stoked concern about a rise in unpaid credit card bills as Korea expects economic growth this year to slow to 2.5 percent from last year's 8.8 percent pace.

Indonesia asset sale deadline looms

JAKARTA >> Indonesia's bank rescue agency said it plans to set up holding companies to manage at least $2 billion of assets it failed to sell within a government-imposed four-year timeframe.

The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, which assumed billions of dollars of bad debts to stave off the collapse of the banking system in the wake of the 1997 financial crisis, plans to form one holding company for property and one for equity and debt holdings.

Analysts say the failure to dispose of the assets -- ranging from hotels to convertible bonds -- underscores the difficulties still facing the nation's efforts to rebuild its banking system as civil unrest deters investors.

South Korea meets FAA safety standards

WASHINGTON >> The Federal Aviation Administration reported yesterday that South Korea now meets international safety standards, a reversal from its position in August.

The FAA did not examine Korean airlines, but rather the government agency that oversees the industry in that country. The federal agency determines when countries meet international standards by their safety regulations and programs to make sure the regulations are followed.