ASIA
Tokyo stocks resist Wall Street's decline
TOKYO >> Tokyo stocks opened up slightly today, resisting Wall Street's plunge Friday. The dollar was lower against the yen.The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average was up 16.25 points, or 0.17 percent, at 9,725.91 after the first half-hour of trading. The index fell 83.85 points, or 0.86 percent, to 9,709.66 Friday.
The dollar bought 118.82 yen early today, down 0.12 yen from late Friday in Tokyo and below its late New York level of 119.08 yen.
The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues listed on the first section was up only minimally at 0.12 points, less than 0.01 percent, at 956.02 after the first half-hour of trading today.
Korean Air may delay decision on Airbus deal
SEOUL >> Korean Air Co. said yesterday it may delay a decision on whether to buy Airbus SAS's 550-seat A380 jetliner until as late as 2005 while Asia's fifth-biggest carrier completes its current fleet renewal plan.Airbus and its bigger rival, Boeing Co., are struggling to fill order books after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a global economic slump hurt demand for new planes. Securing Korean Air as a customer for its newest plane may help Airbus win more orders in the region, including from competitor Japan Airlines Co., analysts said.
MAINLAND
U.S. loans $1.5 billion to struggling Uruguay
WASHINGTON >> Uruguay will get a $1.5 billion emergency loan from the United States to help the government reopen banks it shut last week to halt a run on the lenders, U.S. Treasury Undersecretary John Taylor said today.The U.S. funds and a three-nation South American tour by Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill that began yesterday are intended to calm investors, who are concerned that Brazil and Uruguay will follow Argentina into default.
The aid comes just six weeks after the International Monetary Fund increased Uruguay's credit line to $2.3 billion, suggesting a growing sense of urgency in the United States about Latin America. Uruguay, whose closure of the banks Tuesday provoked protests and looting in the capital, Montevideo, plans to reopen banks this morning, Taylor said.
Ex-Dynegy executive alleges revenue fraud
HOUSTON >> A former senior executive at the Dynegy Corp. says in a lawsuit that Dynegy fired him last year after he refused to go along with a plan to manipulate the firm's profits and losses in the summer of 2000.The executive, Bradley P. Farnsworth, seeks unspecified damages in the suit, filed Friday in a state court here.
Farnsworth, who was the controller and chief accounting officer at Dynegy from 1997 to early 2001, says in the suit that he was pressured to alter the company's accounting standards so as to hide energy trading losses and bolster profits.
Steven Stengel, a spokesman for Dynegy, said yesterday that the accusations outlined in the lawsuit were baseless.
The accounting and trading practices at Dynegy, one of the nation's biggest energy traders, are already under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. attorney's office over suspicions that the company inflated revenue and profit.
New recession unlikely, says president of Fed
NEW ORLEANS >> St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William Poole said yesterday the odds the U.S. economy might fall back into recession given the stock market's recent woes were "very, very small."A spate of weak economic data last week raised concerns the fledgling recovery could stall and led some analysts to predict the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates before the year's end.
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[HAWAII INC.]
New Jobs
>> Maui Medical Group Inc. has hired chiropractor William H. Fagan. He will be using his experience in soft tissue injuries to treat Maui residents affected with head, neck and back pain. His duties will also include work in occupational medicine and personal injury cases.Prior to joining MMG, he served as a Motocross and Supercross race team consultant for Honda and Kawasaki Motor Corporations. Fagan is board-certified by the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians.
>> Hawaii Job Corps Center has hired David Miller as center director. He comes from the Inland Empire Job Corps Center in San Bernadino and has more than 18 years of experience managing employment and training programs for youth.
Promotions
>> Denise Wong has been promoted to account executive at Adworks Inc. She is responsible for developing and executing advertising and marketing promotional plans for the Budget Car and Truck Rental, Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii, BronzeWorks Tanning and SuperTan Tanning Centers accounts. Prior to her promotion, she served as account coordinator.
On the board
>> The shareholders of Island Holdings Inc. recently elected Louise K.Y. Ing, Dennis Y. Teranishi and Duane K. Kurisu to their board of directors. Ing is a founding shareholder, director and officer of the law firm of Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing. Teranishi is president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Host Inc.Kurisu is a partner in the real estate firm of Kurisu & Fergus, as well as chairman of the board and owner of PacificBasin Communications Inc. and the Hawaii Winter Baseball League.
>> Walter J. Dods Jr. and Linda Wong were named to the St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii board of directors. Raymond S. Ono and Chad P. Love were appointed to the St. Francis Liliha campus board of directors, while Carmen Himenes was appointed chairperson. Patrice Aya Tottori Liu was named chairperson for the St. Francis West board of directors. Stephanie L. Saito was appointed chairperson to the St. Francis Community Health Services board of directors.
Star-Bulletin staff and wire