HR experts to review the legislative session

A half-day program, sponsored by the Society for Human Resource Management Hawaii Chapter, on how the results of the 2002 Hawaii legislative session will affect companies will take place June 19 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, Lanai Room.

Panelists include Connie Hastert of Hawaii Employers Council, John Knorek director of Torkildson, Katz, Fonseca, Jaffe, Moore and Hetherington law firm, attorney Tom Grande and Anna Elento-Sneed of Carlsmith Ball law firm.

Registration and breakfast begin at 7:30 am. The cost of the program is $50 for society members and $75 for non-members.

For more information e-mail Mary Pamatigan at shrm@ hawaii.rr.com or call 236-2429.

Deadline set for minority enterprise awards

A deadline of July 15 has been set for nominations for this year's Minority Enterprise Development Week Awards to be submitted to the Minority Business Development Center of Honolulu.

An awards ceremony will be held Aug. 2 at the Hale Koa Hotel, with guest speakers including Rep. Neil Abercrombie and Ronald N. Langston, director of the Minority Business Development Agency. Call 521-6221 for nomination forms.

Former CEO of ImClone arrested over trading tips

NEW YORK >> The former chief executive of ImClone Systems was arrested by the FBI today and charged with tipping off two people to sell their stock in the biotech company a day before the FDA rejected its application for a new cancer drug.

Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission brought civil charges against Samuel Waksal, accusing him of warning family members about the bad news regarding the highly touted drug, Erbitux. The SEC said the family then dumped more than $10 million in stock.

It said Waksal himself tried to sell 79,797 shares worth nearly $5 million, but brokerage firms would not take his business.

Regulators are stepping up efforts to clamp down on white- collar crime following the collapse of energy trader Enron Corp. last year.

Fund adviser opposes Dave & Buster's buyout

Dallas >> Renaissance Capital Group Inc. said three funds it advises that own shares of Dave & Buster's Inc. oppose a management-led plan to buy the restaurant chain because the price is too low.

Renaissance said the funds own about 4.67 percent of Dave & Buster's stock. The acquisition valued the shares at $12 each, which Renaissance says is "artificially and unreasonably low," according to a statement distributed by Business Wire.

Dave & Buster's, whose restaurants feature video games for adults, last month agreed to be acquired for about $255 million by its managers and the Bahrain-based investment firm Investcorp. Renaissance asked the board of Dave & Buster's, whose shares have climbed 91 percent this year, to suspend the sale plan.

Dave & Buster's opened its first Hawaii outlet in Kakaako last year.

Bank of Korea's Park warns of inflation

Seoul >> South Korean central bank Governor Park Seung said the bank needs to set "preemptive measures" to stem prices increases, suggesting the bank may raise rates for a second time this year, according to a Bloomberg News report.

"Monetary policy needs to act effectively and actively according to inflationary pressure," Park said in the text of a speech to commemorate the bank's 52nd anniversary. "We have to set preemptive measures considering the time lag of the policy."

The Bank of Korea left interest rates unchanged last week after raising them a quarter point in May. The bank trimmed borrowing costs 1.25 percentage points last year to help boost consumer spending as exports faltered. That helped the economy avoid recession last year and grow 1.8 percent in the first quarter from the fourth.