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Hawaii home resales most robust in nation
Resales of existing homes in Hawaii grew at a faster rate in the final quarter of 2002 than in any other state, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors. Hawaii statewide resales were up 33.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2001, the association said.Hawaii had 3,080 sales in the latest quarter compared to 2,300 in the year-earlier period.
Nationally, fourth-quarter resales were up 8.6 percent. Nevada had the second-highest growth rate for the quarter, a 32 percent increase, and Alabama was third with a growth of 22.3 percent. The worst-performing state was Wyoming, with a drop of 9.5 percent in resales volume.
The low level of mortgage rates was the dominant factor in the national resales growth rate, said Cathy Whatley, NAR president.
Japanese reservations rebound
Hawaii travel reservations from five major Japanese tour package agencies show strong signs of recovery for trips during this month and next month, a trend that would probably be dampened by war in Iraq.Reservations to Hawaii from Japan for February are up 48.5 percent from last year, while March reservations are up by 69.1 percent, according to a recent survey by the Japan Association of Travel Agents. The growth would follow improvement seen in December, when Hawaii's Japanese visitor arrivals rose 54 percent from December 2001, and were almost on par with December 2000. January reservations rose 23 percent from a year earlier.
A year ago, Hawaii's Japanese arrivals fell from 2000 levels, with a drop of 25 percent in February and 18 percent in March.
Hawaii's reservations this year did not improve as much as reservations to China and the rest of North America, according to the survey. Actual trip sales may differ from reservations, especially if the United States goes to war.
In the months that followed Sept. 11, Japanese arrivals dropped by more than 50 percent from the previous year. During Operation Desert Storm in early 1991, Japanese arrivals fell by more than 40 percent.
The Japanese made up about 23 percent of Hawaii's visitors in 2002, while two-thirds of visitors were North Americans.
Norwegian exemption advances
A U.S. Senate-House conference committee last night agreed to a measure that would allow Norwegian Cruise Line to operate three foreign-built liners in Hawaiian waters without having to make a stop at a foreign port, such as Fanning Island.Congressman Neil Abercrombie persuaded House leaders to include the Senate language advanced by Sen. Daniel Inouye in the House version of an omnibus appropriations bill.
The measure would allow NCL to reflag one of the vessels it now uses for round-the-islands cruises and put two new ships under the American flag as well. NCL last year bought a partially completed ship and parts for another, vessels that had been part of the American Classic Voyages "Project America" construction at a Mississippi shipyard. The ships are being completed in Germany.
The legislation, set for a final vote in both houses this week, would require NCL to use American crews.
Rehab gets grant
The Rehab Hospital of the Pacific has received a $717,715 grant from the Mary D. and Walter F. Frear Eleemosynary Trust. The hospital said the money will be used for renovations, including safety and health improvements to the dining and kitchen areas. The 100-bed hospital was build in 1942, with other sections added during the 1950s.The hospital and its clinics specialize in treatment for individuals with disabilities.
Wall Street vulnerable
WASHINGTON >> Bolstering Wall Street's defenses against a possible repeat of the horror of Sept. 11, should be a higher priority for U.S. financial regulators and markets, said congressional investigators today.The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, released a report that found 15 vital financial organizations have improved physical and information security systems "to reduce the risk of disruption from future attacks." But the GAO added: "Many of the organizations still had limitations in their preparedness that increased their risk of being disrupted."
When three jetliners slammed into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, U.S. financial markets concentrated in lower Manhattan shut down. Government bond markets reopened Sept. 14 and the stock markets Sept. 17.
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