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STI blimp used in search for downed plane
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. >> Officials of Honolulu-based Science & Technology International said a blimp the company is operating over Florida waters is searching for a small plane that crashed in the Atlantic while looking for endangered whales.The blimp's sophisticated Littoral Airborne Sensor Hyperspectral system was being used in the whale hunt. It has the ability to locate objects in and under the water. The Hawaii company has been working under a U.S. Navy contract in the project.
The twin-engine plane with four people aboard went down Sunday off Fernandina Beach.
Emmis Communications to spin off TV stations
INDIANAPOLIS >> Emmis Communications Corp. will spin off its TV business in a tax-free transaction later this year as it looks to acquire more radio stations in larger U.S. markets, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Smulyan said.In Hawaii, Emmis owns KHON-TV, a Fox affiliate, and KGMB-TV, a CBS affiliate, as well as the stations' satellite- and repeater stations around the neighbor islands.
The company said as far back as 2000 that it might split its media units.
Central bank holds key rate steady
WASHINGTON >> The Federal Reserve held a key interest rate steady at a 41-year low today, with the hope that will spur more spending and investment by consumers and businesses and help lift the economy out of the doldrums.After a two-day meeting, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and his Federal Open Market Committee colleagues, decided to leave the federal funds rate unchanged at 1.25 percent. The funds rate is the interest banks charge each other on overnight loans and is the Fed's primary tool for influencing economic activity.
The vote was unanimous.
The Fed said that rising oil prices and geopolitical risks -- a reference to a possible war with Iraq -- have restrained spending and hiring by businesses. However, "as those risks lift, as most analysts expect, the accommodative stance of monetary policy, coupled with ongoing growth in productivity, will provide support to an improving economic climate over time," the Fed said.
United to cut pilots, attendants
CHICAGO >> United Airlines intends to reduce the number of its pilots and flight attendants by up to 25 percent and implement a two-tier pay structure under the new business plan it has devised in bankruptcy, a published report said today.The Chicago Tribune, citing unidentified sources, reported that pilots and flight attendants working for a planned new discount carrier to be operated by the airline would be paid significantly less than those on regular United flights.
United declined comment on the report.
The world's second-largest airline, which has posted heavy losses since mid-2000, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Dec. 9. It is required to compile a new business plan in the first 120 days of bankruptcy to show its lenders how it intends to return to profitability.
ASIA
Sony Corp. chairman steps down
TOKYO >> Norio Ohga, a leading figure in making Sony Corp. into one of the world's foremost electronics makers, said yesterday that he was stepping down as chairman because of ill health. He will become honorary chairman today, his 73rd birthday.At the same time, the company said it would scrap its Japanese-style auditing and corporate oversight systems in favor of U.S.-style arrangements, the first such move by a major Japanese company.
And today Sony nearly doubled its profit for the third quarter as hit movies pulled in DVD and video revenue.
A healthy video-game business built around the PlayStation 2 machine and cost-cutting in its electronics segment also helped the company earn &YEN125.4 billion ($1 billion) during the period ended Dec. 31, nearly double its profit of &YEN64 billion for the same period a year earlier.
Retiring Chairman Ohga was president of Sony from 1982 to 1995, the period when the company acquired the Columbia Pictures studio, developed the PlayStation, and tripled its sales to $45 billion.
His role has diminished in recent years as his health has deteriorated.
Before a brain hemorrhage in 2001 that led to a three-month coma, Ohga conducted symphonies around the world. He led the Honolulu Symphony three times between 1996 and 2001.
