Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Hawaiian Electric exec will retire
Peter Lewis, vice president in administration and corporate secretary for Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., will retire April 26 after 38 years at the company.Patricia Uyehara Wong will succeed him starting Jan. 1 to ensure a smooth transition, the company said. Wong currently serves as vice president of corporate excellence at subsidiary Hawaiian Electric Co.
Oil prices stunt Japan's recovery
Japan's economy unexpectedly slowed in the third quarter, expanding at an annual 0.3 percent pace, suggesting a recovery is faltering as companies cut investment and overseas demand cools.The pace of growth in the world's second-largest economy was slower than the revised 1.1 percent rate in the second quarter and the 2.1 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 28 economists. Capital spending fell 0.9 percent, the Cabinet Office report released in Tokyo today showed.
Higher oil prices are leaving consumers in the U.S. with less money to spend, prompting Japanese exporters to curb orders for machinery made by companies including Advantest Corp. Japan's economy relied on a recovery in consumer spending, which rose at an annual 3.7 percent pace, to sustain its six-quarter expansion.
