IN HAWAII

Aloha Airlines bucks trend on commissions

Aloha Airlines has decided to keep paying a 5 percent commission, at least through the rest of this year, to travel agents who book their clients on its interisland and mainland-Hawaii flights.

The announcement, which is counter to what most airlines are doing, won praise from the American Society of Travel Agents. ASTA issued a statement saying Aloha's decision is "beneficial to all parties involved."

Competitor Hawaiian Airlines stopped paying travel agents commissions on June 24.

Hosoi looks to fill Mansho's board seat

Former City Councilwoman Rene Mansho, sentenced to one year in jail, five years probation and a fine for misusing campaign funds and staff, has resigned her position as chairwoman of publicly traded Honolulu-based Hosoi Garden Mortuary.

Mansho, who had been on Hosoi's board since 1993 and the chairwoman since 1994, submitted a brief resignation letter to the company that was dated June 25 but received after her June 26 sentencing.

She is serving her time in the Women's Community Correctional Center in Kailua.

Hosoi's board of directors, which had its monthly meeting yesterday, formed a nomination committee to take recommendations for the absent chair post as well as for the now-vacant position on what is usually a nine-member board. Current board members and chairwoman emerita Sadako Hosoi, 84, are among the candidates for the chair role.

The company's thinly traded stock, listed on the Pink Sheets under the ticker symbol HGMI, last exchanged hands June 28 when it closed at $5. The stock is up 25 percent this year.

ON THE MAINLAND

Microsoft profits short of expectations

SEATTLE >> Microsoft Corp.'s fourth-quarter profit easily surpassed its bare-bones profit from a year ago, but fell far short of analysts' expectations because of telecom-related investment losses.

Microsoft announced yesterday that for the quarter ended June 30, it had profits of $1.53 billion, or 28 cents per share, compared with a profit of $65 million, or 1 cent a share, in the same period last year.

The most-recent earnings included an after-tax charge of $806 million in "investment impairments" stemming from investments made in AT&T and other telecommunications companies as part of Microsoft's bid to roll out software over cable networks and other initiatives. In the same quarter a year ago, Microsoft took an after-tax charge of $2.63 billion or 47 cents a share for investment impairments.

Corporate fraud bill gets top priority

WASHINGTON >> House and Senate negotiators began forging compromise legislation aimed at combatting corporate fraud, and a Bush nominee to the Securities and Exchange Commission promised Thursday to "do all I can to punish corporate wrongdoers."

Acting with unusual speed, lawmakers are trying to get President Bush a final bill before they adjourn for their August recess, as he has urged them to do.

Key lawmakers meeting privately yesterday agreed to use legislation unanimously approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate as the underlying text for crafting the new compromise measure -- a sign that Republicans may be willing to adopt a tougher bill than they previously had supported.

In other news ...

HELSINKI, Finland >> Nokia, the world's biggest cell phone maker, yesterday posted a 46 percent profit increase for the second quarter on strong sales but it warned of slower growth for the rest of the year.