Matson shipping partner seeking to expand

Sea-Star Line, a mainland-Puerto Rico shipping company that has had a four-year partnership with Matson Navigation Co., is looking to expand with the proposed purchase of Navieras/NPR Inc., a competing line in the Caribbean area.

Sea-Star, which leased and then purchased two Matson freighters and still has a working relationship with Matson, said it wants to establish frequent service all the way from Philadelphia to Florida, with stops in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Matson, a subsidiary of Hawaii-based Alexander & Baldwin Inc., confines its operations to the West Coast-Hawaii trade.

Molokai Visitors Assoc. enters HVCB fold

The Molokai Visitors Association has joined the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, moving all state-funded tourism marketing organizations in the islands under the bureau.

The Molokai association joins the bureau as a department of the Maui Visitors Bureau. The association will continue to make decisions about visitors promotions for Molokai. The visitors bureau is the marketing contractor of the tax-funded Hawaii Tourism Authority, which has a budget of about $61 million.

Molokai association employees will be eligible for health insurance and retirement plans offered by the bureau.

Some weight-loss costs tax deductible, IRS says

WASHINGTON >> The cost of weight-loss programs that are part of the treatment for obesity are tax deductible, the Internal Revenue Service ruled today.

"Obesity is medically accepted to be a disease in its own right," the IRS said.

Taxpayers who participate in these programs for medically valid reasons will now be able to deduct amounts above 7.5 percent of their adjusted gross income, similar to any other medical expense not covered by insurance or other reimbursement. A taxpayer's spouse and dependents would also be covered. Still not deductible, however, are the costs of weight control programs intended "to improve the taxpayer's appearance, general health and sense of well-being."

Diet foods also are not be deductible. The IRS reasons that people have to pay for food whether or not they are trying to lose weight. Fees, diet menus and literature and other costs would be deductible.

PeopleSoft shares plunge as software sales decline

Pleasanton, Calif. >> PeopleSoft Inc. shares tumbled 33 percent, their biggest one-day drop, after the maker of computer programs for businesses said first-quarter software sales and profit missed analysts' estimates. The shares slid $12.21 to $25.16, erasing $3.8 billion of market value. PeopleSoft, whose programs are used to manage companies' accounting, human resources and customer relations, had gained 55 percent in the year before today's decline.

Software sales were $130 million to $135 million, a decline of as much as 15 percent from a year ago. In January, PeopleSoft forecast revenue of $160 million. Profit from recurring operations was 14 cents a share, PeopleSoft said. Analysts had expected 15 cents a share.