Tyco shares nose-dives on new accounting fears

NEW YORK >> Tyco International Ltd. suffered more blows today as new disclosures about its accounting practices and questions about a refinancing plan added to a loss of investor confidence.

Shares in the embattled conglomerate, which has been trying to assuage investor fears about its accounting and corporate ethics in the fallout from the Enron Corp. scandal, plunged as much as 20 percent to levels almost half lower than at the start of the year. The stock, which fell as low as $28.50, closed down $5.73, or 16.1 percent, to $29.90.

Its bonds also slumped amid widening skepticism about how the Bermuda-based maker of everything from burglar alarms to plastic hangers accounted for a massive series of acquisitions and on concerns about the implications of the plan to dip into a line of credit to repurchase $4.5 billion of debt. The concerns were heightened today when Tyco confirmed that it spent $8 billion on more than 700 acquisitions in the past three years that it did not separately announce to the public.

Argentina plans to relax economic banking freeze

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina >> Argentina's government unveiled an ambitious plan to rescue its economy yesterday, including the partial easement of a maligned banking freeze. The plan also calls for moving to a free-floating peso and slashing a bloated budget deficit.

Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov said he would present a 2002 "austerity" budget to Congress in coming days, and exhorted Argentines to accept more sacrifice as he seeks to end a four-year recession.

Philippine exports finish a rare annual decline

MANILA >> Philippine exports slid by a quarter in December as customers in the United States, Japan and other countries slashed orders for electronic parts and clothes, capping the first annual decline in more than a decade.

Exports fell 24.3 percent in December from a year earlier to $2.6 billion, the National Statistics Office said. That matched economists' expectations. For all of 2001, exports fell 15.6 percent to $32.1 billion, the first full-year decline since at least 1987.

Recessions in the United States and Japan are cutting demand for Philippine-made goods, forcing exporters to cut production and fire workers. While the Philippine economy outperformed most of its neighbors last year as consumer spending and farm production rose, a manufacturing slump capped growth.

[TAKING NOTICE]

NEW JOBS

>> Retail Strategies Inc. has named Randy Yeager president and chief executive officer. Yeager, who has more than 30 years of experience in the retail industry, previously served as president and CEO of Crazy Shirts Inc.

>> Marla Kelly has been named director of sales at Get2Hawaii, a Hawaii-based software company. She most recently served as director of sales at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel.

ON THE BOARD

>> Roger Wall has been named board chairman by Enterprise Honolulu, a private-sector economic development organization. He is executive vice president and chief financial officer of Foodland Supermarket Ltd. Other new board officers include vice president Mike Fisch, president and publisher of The Honolulu Advertiser; secretary Judith Perry, senior resident vice president at Merrill Lynch; and treasurer Robert Gagliano, managing partner of KPMG LLP.

>> Herman Jordon has been elected president of the Hawaii Society of Enrolled Agents. Other newly elected officers include: James K. Sylva, vice president; Kathryn A. Moore, treasurer; and Melissa J. Lange, secretary.

RECOGNITION

>> Yuriko Dunn was named the Outstanding Lodging Employee of the Year at the Hawaii Hotel Association's Na Po'e Pa'ahana awards luncheon last month at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa. She is rooms coordinator at the Pacific Beach Hotel. Other winners included: Bellperson of the Year Willian Pascoe of the Kahala Mandarin Oriental, Concierge of the Year Michael Doi of the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel, Engineering/Maintenance Person of the Year Oscar Jimenez of the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel and Spa, Food & Beverage Person of the Year Janal Kaina of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Front Desk Person of the Year Kathy Cummings of the Aston Maui Lu Resort, Manager of the Year Terra Rose Jenkins of the Hilton Waikoloa Village, Room Keeper of the Year Perla Gouveia of the Hilton Waikoloa Village, and Security Officer of the Year Kevin Arcilla of the Hyatt Regency Maui.