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IN HAWAII

Senate passes retention bill

The state Senate gave narrow approval yesterday to a bill that would require that at least half of the employees be retained when a larger company changes ownership.

Opponents, primarily Republicans, denounced the bill as sending the wrong message about Hawaii's business climate and said it will discourage investments in the islands.

Sen. Sam Slom (R, Diamond Head-Hawaii Kai) said the restriction imposed on companies with more than 50 employees could see financially troubled firms shut down that might otherwise survive by being sold, ending the jobs for all the workers.

"The main thing is we're denying them the choice to make the decision themselves. We are not in business here, we're in the process of destroying businesses," he said.

He also questioned the logic of exempting construction companies from the requirement.

Sen. Willie Espero (D, Ewa-Ewa Beach-Lower Waipahu) defended the bill, saying it sends a message "that yes, we care about the working people of Hawaii, and a big multi-million-dollar corporation can come in and invest, but we have concerns about how our working people are treated."

The bill that targets the hotel industry passed on a 13-12 vote and goes to the House for further consideration.

ON THE MAINLAND

Gas prices to keep on climbing

WASHINGTON >> Gasoline prices are expected to continue their upward climb and reach a record national average of $1.76 a gallon in April, the Energy Department forecast yesterday.

It predicted gas prices will average about $1.70 a gallon for regular brands through the summer.

Gasoline prices have soared during the past month because of high crude oil costs, heavy demand for heating oil and tight inventories of crude as well as most petroleum products.

Gasoline prices increased to an average of $1.68 a gallon nationally this week, a hike of nearly 3 cents from last week and 54 cents higher than a year ago. Prices on the West Coast took the biggest jump, increasing by 8.5 cents to $1.93 a gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Shareholders reject Tyco move

CONCORD, N.H. >> A proposal to have Tyco International move its headquarters from Bermuda to the United States failed to win enough shareholder support at the troubled conglomerate's annual meeting yesterday.

However, shareholders unhappy with scandals involving top management scored a very rare victory with approval of a resolution to subject executive severance packages to a direct shareholder vote.

The nonbinding resolution won 58 percent to 42 percent at the meeting, which took place in Hamilton, Bermuda. Such proxy votes hardly ever win majority support when opposed by management, as this one was.

Visa tightens credit card display

WASHINGTON >> Visa will begin limiting the display of credit card account numbers on receipts to combat identity theft.

While many merchants already truncate the 16-digit card numbers on receipts, Visa will require, beginning July 1, that new credit-card machines display only the last four digits.

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