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[ FAST FACTS HAWAII ]

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Australia and China supply 147,005 visitors

Australia and China led the way in 2004 among Hawaii's developing international markets for tourism, according to figures released yesterday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The figures showed arrivals from Australia increasing 44.4 percent from the previous year to 112,883, and the arrivals from China increasing 34.3 percent to 34,172.

The Australia figure included 25,414 "domestic" Australians stopping here on their way back to Australia from the U.S. mainland, and 88,369 "international" arrivals who came here directly from Down Under. The China figure included 22,982 "domestic" and 11,190 "international" arrivals.

Arrivals in 2004 from Hong Kong were down 6.5 percent to 5,619. Visitors from Korea were down 20.8 percent to 38,390, while Singapore arrivals were up 0.4 percent to 4,086. Taiwan showed a gain of 11.8 percent, to 16,159.

New Zealanders coming to Hawaii increased 10.6 percent compared with the previous year to 19,164.

Bankruptcies up slightly in April

Statewide bankruptcies, perhaps signaling a trend reversal, rose last month for the first time since July 2002.

The total of 318 cases were filed in April -- one more than the same month a year earlier -- as Chapter 7 cases grew 9.1 percent to 289 from 265. A Chapter 7 filing involves liquidating the assets of a business or a consumer.

For the year, though, total bankruptcy filings are down 5.3 percent to 1,096 from 1,157 through the first four months of 2004.

Chapter 13 filings, which allow a wage earner to pay creditors over three years, dropped 41.3 percent to 27 from 46 a year earlier.

There were two Chapter 11 cases last month compared with six a year earlier. Chapter 11 filings mostly cover business reorganizations.

Honolulu Weekly buys Big Isle paper

Honolulu Weekly, a free alternative newspaper, said yesterday it has purchased the Big Island's Hawaii Island Journal, a 22,000-circu- lation semimonthly free newspaper.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Honolulu Weekly Publisher Laurie Carlson said the two papers have shared interests in providing alternative community voices. The Journal was founded in 1999 by Michael Gibson, and in 2001 Lane Wick and Karen Valentine assumed ownership. The 45,000-circulation Hono-lulu Weekly was founded in 1991 by Carlson.

The Journal's editorial and advertising departments will remain on the Big Island while production and administration will move to Oahu. Wick will remain editor for the near future.

Aloha Air has a deal for adults flying with keiki

Aloha Airlines said yesterday it is offering a half-price interisland "Keiki Companion Fare" for children flying with an adult paying for a full-fare ticket.

The nonrefundable fare offer is available on e-tickets purchased by May 20 for travel through June 15. For more information, visit www.AlohaAirlines.com.

Index looks bad for publicly held firms

April was not a good month for publicly held companies, a monthly index published by Honolulu-based Kamakura Corp. shows.

The company's index of troubled publicly held companies in the United States in April recorded its biggest monthly jump on record, increasing 2.4 percent from the previous month, to 16 percent.

Company President Warren Sherman said the index is now at its highest level since September 2003, when it hit 16.1 percent of companies, while the March percentage increase was the largest single-month increase since he first launched the index in 1990.

Sherman said a company is classified as "troubled" if it has a default probability of more than 1 percent.

AT&T will pay $340M to At Home creditors

BEDMINSTER, N.J. » AT&T Corp. said yesterday it will pay $340 million to settle claims related to the bankruptcy of At Home Corp. -- a now-defunct broadband business that AT&T acquired in 2000.

The telecommunications giant said the payment will not have a "material impact" on its results of operations.