[ TAKING NOTICE ]

New Jobs

>> Kevin Bloom has been named president at Aston Hotels and Resorts. He will be responsible for oversight of all departments and aspects of the company, including business development and owner relations. Bloom most recently served as vice president and chief operating officer at Aston.

>> Trudy Burns Stone has been named managing member at Chun, Kerr, Dodd, Beaman and Wong LLLC. She will concentrate in real estate law, including commercial real estate transactions, development and commercial leasing.

>> Rebecca Fernandes has been named director of marketing and public relations at Saint Louis School. She will be responsible for directing media correspondence and relations for the school, and managing the design and development of the school's Web site and publications. Previously, Fernandes worked as an Internet marketing consultant.

>> Ricardo S. Galindez has joined Goodsill Anderson Quinn and Stifel LLP as counsel. In addition, the following attorneys were named associates at the firm: Emily A.S. Reber, Brian A. Costa, Kerry A. Kearn, Dawn T. Sugihara and Jason M. Oliver.

>> Terry L. Long has been named chief financial officer at St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii. He will be responsible for fiscal services and budgeting, revenue and reimbursement, and contracts. Prior to joining St. Francis, Long served as vice president and director of finance at Stanford University Medical Center and as a senior manager at Ernst and Young LLP in Honolulu.

>> Guy Tajiri has been named business manager at the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association. He joins the association after serving for 23 years at the Hawaii Government Employees Association.

>> Jeffrey Baker, Charisse Freitas and Daphne Wingate have joined Nextel Partners as account executives. Baker and Freitas will be responsible for selling Nextel products and services on Oahu. Wingate will service both Oahu and the Big Island. The three will be based out of Nextel's Honolulu office.

>> LeAnne Jensick has been named national sales manager at Hilton Waikoloa Village. She will be responsible for sales within the northeast United States. Jensick comes to the Big Island after working for Hilton Hotels Corp. in Sacramento, Calif.

>> Sylvia Zhuang has joined the Christian Science Committee on Publication for Hawaii as an administrative assistant. She joins the company after working at American Savings Bank and interning at the Disney Corp. in Orlando, Fla.

>> Stanley Tanaka has been named vice president of research and development at Territorial Savings. Tanaka, a Certified Public Accountant, joins Territorial Savings after serving at the state Department of Budget and Finance. In addition, Troy Yoshimasu has been appointed a loan officer trainee. He will be responsible for originating residential and income mortgage loans. Yoshimasu joined Territorial Savings in 2000 and served as a teller before his appointment.

Promotions

>> Cathy Matsuda has been promoted to manager of the Association of Apartment Owners department at City Bank. She will be responsible for addressing the local and national financial needs of homeowner and condominium associations. Matsuda, who joined City Bank in 1997, previously served as an assistant vice president and corporate loan officer.

>> Steve Lau has been promoted to manager of real estate services and analysis at Avalon Development and Consulting. Lau previously served as a project analyst at the company.

>> Lauralei Morgan has been promoted to residential accounting supervisor at Castle and Cooke Homes Hawaii. She will be responsible for management of the accounting functions and coordination of budgeting for Castle and Cooke Homes Hawaii, Castle and Cooke Kunia Inc., Castle and Cooke Realty Inc. and Castle and Cooke Mortgage. Morgan has been with the company since 1994. She previously served as a senior accountant.

>> Vicki Suganuma has been named design director at ADWorks Inc. She will be responsible for designing ads and collateral as well as oversight of all projects produced by the design department. Before her promotion Suganuma served as art director. She joined ADWorks in 1990.

>> Craig Sasada has been named head golf professional at the Plantation Course at Kapalua. He will oversee all day-to-day operations and will assist with the Mercedes Championships tournament operations. Sasada, who has been on the golf staff at Kapalua since 1999, previously worked as head golf professional at Sandalwood Golf Course.

On the board

>> Barry K. Taniguchi, Bert A. Kobayashi and Dick Gushman have been appointed to the board of directors at American Savings Bank. Taniguchi is president and chief executive officer at KTA Super Stores and K. Taniguchi Ltd. Kobayashi is chairman of Kobayashi Development Group LLC. Gushman is chairman of the board of trustees of the Estate of James Campbell. Recognition

>> Hawaii Public Television traffic manager Nancy Murakami has been awarded the TOPS Award for excellence in traffic and operations by members of the PBS system. Murakami has been at Hawaii Public Television since 1981.

>> Duke Gonzales, Danielle Lum and Pepi Nieva have earned the Accredited in Public Relations credential from the Public Relations Society of America. The three were required to pass a nationwide examination. Gonzales, Lum and Nieva are among 32 APR-certified public relations practitioners in Hawaii.

>> Chuck Siebenthal, head of Studio Becker Installations, has earned the Certified Kitchen Designer designation from the National Kitchen and Bath Association. Siebenthal was awarded the designation after demonstrating standards of proficiency in kitchen and bath design, installation and project management. He was required to have seven years of kitchen-related experience and successfully complete a written examination to receive the designation.

>> Jerry Pupillo has been promoted from assistant general manager to general manager at Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park. He will oversee all aspects of park management including sales, marketing and promotions. Takuya Ohki, who managed eastbound tours, will expand into the east and west market as the senior manager of sales and marketing. And Kai Cutter, who has been with the company since the beginning, will add advertising and promotions to his title of special events manager.

United paid former CEO millions to go away

UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, gave James Goodwin $5.4 million -- three times his salary and bonus -- to go away last year.

But his pay for 10 months of work was 23 percent higher than the money he made in all of 2000. And the real riches may come from 309,600 stock options Goodwin received Feb. 20, 2001, eight months before he resigned under pressure for claiming the airline might "perish" in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The company, using a method approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, values Goodwin's stock options at $3.96 million in a federal filing. The Rocky Mountain News, using another SEC-approved method, valued the options at $18.5 million if UAL stock appreciates 10 percent per year over the life of the options.

United also disclosed this week that new CEO John W. Creighton -- who replaced Goodwin in October -- worked in 2001 for no salary or bonus. But he got 400,000 options the company values at $800,000. The options will be worth $9.2 million if the stock appreciates 10 percent annually from the $14.48 exercise price. By April 28, all 400,000 will have "vested," or become usable by Creighton.

Philip Morris names new CFO in shakeup

NEW YORK >> Tobacco, food and beer giant Philip Morris Cos. Inc. named a new chief financial officer in a corporate shake-up before new Chief Executive Louis Camilleri takes over in April.

Dinyar Devitre, 54, will become CFO, replacing Camilleri, who was appointed in January to head Philip Morris, the company whose brands include Kraft Foods Inc. and Miller Brewing Co. Devitre will return to the company after working at Citigroup.

AOL Time Warner execs got options, no bonuses

WASHINGTON >> Internet and media giant AOL Time Warner Inc. said Tuesday it gave stock options instead of annual bonuses to top executives in 2001 as an incentive to boost future financial performance.

The company's shares have hovered near lows not seen since December 1998 as it tries to rebuild lost credibility with investors, who have become concerned about AOL Time Warner's growth prospects.

The company paid its top executives, including Chairman Stephen Case and Chief Executive Gerald Levin, a salary of $1 million last year, the first full fiscal year since America Online merged with Time Warner.

The Hawaii-born Case, former CEO at America Online, and Levin, former CEO at Time Warner, each received options to buy 4 million shares, according to the proxy. Co-Chief Operating Officers Richard Parsons, a University of Hawaii alum, and Robert Pittman each received 3.5 million stock options

Parsons will replace Levin as CEO in May.

Macao signs deal with casino tycoon Ho

HONG KONG >> The Macao government officially signed a new gambling concession deal with casino tycoon Stanley Ho, granting Ho's Macao Gambling Holding Co. a license to operate for 18 years.

Ho's company, which is held by Macao Tourism and Amusement Co. whose 40-year-old monopoly in the lucrative sector will expire at the end of this month, is one of three winners of the enclave's new gambling concessions.

The two other winners are U.S. casino magnate Stephen Wynn's Wynn Resorts (Macao) Ltd., and Galaxy Casino Co., which has Las Vegas Sands Inc.'s The Venetian as a shareholder.

Under its deal with the Macao government, Ho's company promised to invest about $589 million in gambling and entertainment projects and businesses, a Macao government spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the Macao government said it is still in negotiations with Wynn Resorts and Galaxy Casino to conclude a contract with them separately as soon as possible.

Haseko says lenders OK $1.13 billion in aid

TOKYO >> Haseko Corp., a Japanese condominium builder, said Daiwa Bank Holdings Inc. and two other lenders agreed to convert $1.13 billion in loans to equity, its second debt bailout in three years, Bloomberg News reported.

Daiwa Bank Ltd., a unit of Daiwa Bank Holdings; Chuo Mitsui Trust & Banking; and Industrial Bank of Japan Ltd., a unit of Mizuho Holdings Inc., agreed to provide the aid, Haseko said.

Japanese contractors borrowed during the 1980s to buy property, only to be stung by a decade-long slide in land prices. Since December, construction companies Aoki Corp. and Sato Kogyo Co. have filed for bankruptcy protection, and builders Haseko Corp. and Misawa Homes Co. have sought bank bailouts.

"It's positive for the company to win approval from banks in the short-term," said Akira Hisatsu, an analyst at Okasan Securities Co. "Things are severe for the industry, and Haseko needs to exert its strength to survive."

Kawasaki adds feeling to humanoid robots

TOKYO >> Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. said it has developed a prototype remote control system for a humanoid robot that allows operators to feel as if they are inside the robot.

The major heavy machinery maker said the new remote control apparatus will enable operators to efficiently control humanoid robots in disaster sites as the sensory feature would enable them to feel the vibrations and weight of objects as experienced by the robot.

The apparatus is portable, it said.

The remote control system consists of a master arm and a master foot that corresponds with the robot's arm and foot. The operator will be able to move them while looking at scenes recorded by the robot's built-in camera.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Tokyu Construction Co. and other concerns have jointly conducted an indoor experiment in which a humanoid robot developed by Honda Motor Co. was placed on the driver's seat of a power shovel and was operated by the system, the company said.

The company will hold similar outdoor experiments to improve the system before selling it, it said.

India State Bank cuts rates to boost loans

Mumbai, India >> State Bank of India, the country's biggest commercial bank, said it was lowering rates on loans and deposits in a bid to boost lending, Bloomberg News reported.

State Bank, which has one-fifth of all Indian bank deposits, cut lending rates by 50 basis points to 11 percent and lowered deposit rates by between 0.25 basis points and 0.75 basis points. The new rates will take effect tomorrow.

"The rate cut will help our loans grow in the next financial year," said S. Govindrajan, one of the two managing directors of State Bank of India.

State Bank and its rivals are strapped for lending opportunities as a slowdown in the pace of economic growth in India forces companies to hold back on investment. The economy will probably grow 5 percent in the fiscal year ending today, falling short of a central bank target of 6 percent, as it emerges from a two-year drought that depressed farm incomes.

Taser sells stun weapons to Korean Air Co.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. >> Taser International Inc. said it will supply Korean Air Co., South Korea's largest airline, with 205 stun weapons to let flight crews disable attackers.

Taser will receive more than $145,000 in revenue from the sale, spokesman Steve Tuttle said. Bloomberg News reported Korean becomes the fourth carrier to order the equipment from Taser, following UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and two unspecified carriers outside the United States that are adding security after the Sept. 11 terrorist hijackings.

South Korea's transportation ministry said this week that Seoul-based Korean Air and Asiana Airlines Co. will be allowed to arm cabin crews with stun equipment starting next month, before the World Cup soccer tournament in June and the Asian Games in September. The Federal Aviation Administration is reviewing a proposal for U.S. airlines to use the electrified devices.

Chile jobless rate rises more than expected

SANTIAGO, Chile >> Chile's jobless rate rose more than expected in February, signaling that declining interest rates have failed to spur corporate investment and hiring, Bloomberg News reported.

The jobless rate in the three months to February rose to 8.3 percent from 8 percent in January, the government said.