Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Central Pacific gets No. 17 ranking
A magazine survey has ranked Central Pacific Financial Corp. as No. 17 in the nation among medium-sized banks and thrifts, based on its return-on-equity performance.The US Banker magazine survey, published last month, includes companies that trade on the New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market. Central Pacific completed its merger with the parent of Honolulu's City Bank earlier this month.
Resort under new management
The new owner of the Kona Village Resort on the Big Island has hired the Mankarios Partnership to manage the 82-acre beachfront property.Ty Warner Hotels & Resorts, a company associated with the Ty Inc. plush-toy company, bought the resort in July. The Mankarios Partnership provides asset management for Ty's Four Seasons New York and Four Seasons Biltmore in California.
Daiei shares jump on renewed hopes
Shares of Daiei Inc., Japan's third-largest retailer, soared 20 percent because of speculation the company may be able to reorganize its finances without help from a government bailout agency, a stock strategist said."The market is starting to assume that Daiei may revive itself" without help from the Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan, said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, a Tokyo-based strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co.
That speculation emerged because the first half of the business year will soon come to an end for the retailer's lenders. The banks have been urging Daiei to seek government help as part of an effort to reduce their bad loans for the fiscal first half.
Japanese banks, which close the first half of their business year tomorrow, have little time now to force state bailout on Daiei, Nakanishi said.
Daiei is among the biggest borrowers of UFJ Holdings Inc., Japan's fourth-biggest bank by assets, which is itself under government pressure to reduce bad loans.
Some analysts have different explanation for the share rise.
"Individual investors are just playing around," said Kiyokazu Kurauchi, a retail analyst at Yasuda Asset Management Co. "It's still unclear when the retailer and the banks would decide on seeking IRCJ aid."
[Hawaii Inc.]
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NEW JOBS
» Stryker Weiner & Yokota Public Relations Inc. has hired Dawn L. Hirai as senior account executive for its corporate and public affairs division and promoted Dyan R. Kleckner to assistant account executive for the division. Hirai previously served as a senior legislative adviser and as a special assistant to former Gov. Ben Cayetano. Kleckner joined the company in 2003 as an account coordinator and previously interned at Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, a public policy trade organization.» The University of Hawaii Foundation in partnership with the University of Hawaii at Hilo has appointed Margaret Shiba as director of development and Paula Thomas as director of development for athletics for UH-Hilo. Each will be responsible for private fund-raising. Shiba most recently served for eight years as executive director for Metro International in New York. Thomas most recently served as UH-Hilo interim director of development.
» ERM, a global environmental and engineering consulting firm, has hired James W. Frolich as managing director in the company's new Honolulu office. He will be responsible for expanding and diversifying the company's client base throughout the Pacific islands. He has more than 25 years of experience.
