Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Steve Case to speak here
 |  |
Case will address his investments in Hawaii, which include Maui Land & Pineapple and Grove Farm on Kauai.
SBA seeks award nominees
Nominations for the U.S. Small Business Administration's 2005 Small Business Awards, which recognize contributions to the state's economy, are due Friday.Categories include Small Business Person of the Year and the SBA Champion Awards. Anyone can submit a nomination. Forms are available by calling 541-2990 or e-mailing doreen.ezuka@sba.gov.
Oil prices could hurt Asia boom
MANILA » A fifth year of powerful economic growth in East Asia and the Pacific has driven the number of people living in poverty in the region to its lowest level ever, but the World Bank warned today that oil prices could dampen the boom next year.Led by China's strong performance, growth in East Asia -- excluding Japan -- is projected at 7.1 percent. For developing countries, it will be 7.9 percent, the World Bank said in a report. At the same time, the region's population has jumped by about 4 percent, to around 1.85 billion.
However, the report warned that recent growth in Asia has peaked and economic activity is shifting -- if it hasn't already -- to lower gear. It said the outlook for 2005 looks less favorable because of the spike in oil prices, slower growth in rich countries and a slowdown in global demand for information technology products.