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HAWAII

Center looks to honor minority-owned firms

The Minority Business Development Center of Honolulu is accepting nominations for its 2004 awards recognizing minority-owned businesses in the fields of construction, retail, supplier/distributor, manufacturing, technology, and services.

The company must be at least 51 percent minority-owned and the owners must be U.S. citizens or resident aliens and in business for at least five years. Companies may nominate themselves.

The awards will be presented at the third annual Minority Enterprise Development Week Awards Luncheon on July 23 at 11:30 am at the Hale Koa Hotel. Awards also will be given to the Minority Financial Advocate of the Year, the Minority Business Advocate of the Year, and Minority Media Cornerstone.

The nomination deadline is June 30. Call the MBDC at 521-6221 for information.

Small meeting rooms available

The Ilima hotel in Waikiki has added more than 1,600 square feet of new conference and executive boardroom facilities tailored to the small meetings market.

The 99-unit condo-style hotel said the facilities are available for $50 to $250 for a half-day, and $75 to $300 for a full day. Discounts are available for hotel guests.

For more information, call 923-1877 or visit www.ilima.com.

NATION & WORLD

Californians warned of bubble

LOS ANGELES >> UCLA economists warn that soaring home prices in Southern California have reached the point where the bubble could burst, but they predict that steady growth in the state and regional economy could soften the impact, according to the Anderson Forecast to be released today.

This is first time the quarterly Anderson Forecast has raised concerns about a home-price bubble and much of today's conference on the University of California, Los Angeles, campus will be devoted to the issue. Forecasters say price bubbles have also formed in coastal areas on both sides of the country, including Washington, D.C.; Boston; New York; Miami; and San Diego.

Christopher Thornberg, a senior UCLA economist who wrote the Southern California forecast, said if mortgage rates climb into the 7.5 percent to 8 percent range, prices could fall by 20 percent to 25 percent.

But while a correction is coming, Thornberg does not believe it will be anything like what happened in the early 1990s, when the market collapsed. He predicts a slight price decline or price stability while fundamentals catch up with the market.

Delta settles discrimination case

WASHINGTON >> The government announced a settlement with Delta Air Lines yesterday over allegations the carrier discriminated after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks against travelers believed to have been Muslim or of Arab, Middle Eastern or Southeast Asian descent.

The department said its investigation found that Delta acted in a manner inconsistent with federal laws that bar discrimination.

Delta acknowledged no wrongdoing.

The airline agreed to provide civil rights training over the next two years to its pilots, flight attendants and passenger service agents.

As part of the settlement, that training must cost the company no less than $900,000.

This is the fourth settlement regarding discrimination complaints against airline passengers in the weeks after the 2001 terror attacks. It settled similar allegations with United Airlines last year and with American Airlines and Continental Airlines this year.

Verizon buyer to invest $2B in wireless firm

TOKYO >> The Carlyle Group, the private U.S. investment firm, agreed yesterday to pay $2.02 billion to the KDDI Corp. for a majority stake in a Japanese provider of mobile phone and wireless Internet service in a deal that signals growing acceptance of foreign buyouts in Japan.

Carlyle, which is also buying Verizon Hawaii, said it would acquire a 60 percent stake in DDI Pocket, a subsidiary of KDDI that provides a simplified mobile phone and wireless data service that analysts say is a promising low-cost technology for developing countries. Carlyle will join the Kyocera Corp., which said it would increase its stake in DDI Pocket to 30 percent from 13 percent. KDDI will retain a 10 percent stake in DDI, down from 81 percent.

The deal is one of Japan's largest leveraged buyouts ever -- about 75 percent of the $2 billion purchase price will be financed by bank loans -- and it highlights a significant change in attitude among the Japanese about foreign investment funds, analysts said.

Mall manager buys Waikiki outlets owner

Simon Property Group Inc., the world's largest manager of shopping malls, agreed to buy Chelsea Property Group Inc., the owner of 35 factory-outlet shopping centers in the U.S. and Japan, for about $3.5 billion in cash and stock.

Simon, based in Indianapolis, will pay $66 a share for Chelsea, a 13 percent premium to the closing stock price of $58.24 on Friday. Simon also will assume debt that totaled $1.3 billion as of March 31, the company said in a statement.

Chelsea's 31 U.S. outlets include the Waikele Premium Outlets on Oahu. The purchase is Simon's second-largest ever and gives the company a toehold in Asia. Chelsea has four properties in Japan.