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HAWAII

Matson raises Guam shipping rates 2.6%

In an effort to offset rising operating costs and raise money for new projects, Matson Navigation Co. will increase shipping rates for its service to Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands by 2.6 percent, or $100 per container, the company said yesterday.

In addition, Matson said it will increase West Coast terminal handling fees 32 percent to $165 from $125 per container. Rates for moving vehicles from the West Coast to Guam will increase by $25. The increases will take effect Aug. 21.

David Hoppes, senior vice president of Matson's ocean services division, said the increases will offset increased operating costs and support investments in the company's Guam service.

Matson is investing $365 million to start new Guam and China service in February, when a 10-year alliance expires with APL, a subsidiary of global shipping company Neptune Orient Lines.

Matson has agreed to buy two new U.S.-built containerships from Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard Inc. for $305 million.

By mid-2006, Matson projects the ships will be deployed with three other Matson containerships in weekly service between the West Coast, Hawaii, Guam and China. The planned route will include port calls in California, Honolulu, Guam and two ports in China.

Food industry group elects board

Joe Detro, senior vice president of sales and operations for Foodland Super Market Ltd., is the new chief executive of the Hawaii Food Industry Association.

Detro succeeds George Szigeti, president of wine and spirits distributor Better Brands.

Derek Kurisu, executive vice president of Big Island-based KTA Super Stores, moves up to the position of vice chairman. Glenn Muranaka, president of Meadow Gold Dairies Inc., has been elected secretary/treasurer.

The HFIA is a nonprofit trade association of retailers, suppliers and supporters of Hawaii's food industry. It established the Rainbow Fever program with grocery retailers to fund athletic scholarships at the University of Hawaii. The association produces the annual Made in Hawaii Festival along with First Hawaiian Bank.

NATION

Belo's earnings drop 7.9 percent

Belo Corp., publisher of the Dallas Morning News, said second-quarter profit declined 7.9 percent as advertising revenue dropped at its 19 television stations.

Net income slipped to $41.9 million, or 36 cents a share, from $45.5 million, or 39 cents, a year earlier, the Dallas-based company said. Sales fell to $388.8 million from $391.1 million.

The results echo those at other media companies, including Gannett Co., owner of the Honolulu Advertiser, which reported that second-quarter profit fell 4.5 percent.

Belo said that analyst estimates for the third quarter may be high, though it maintained an annual earnings forecast of $1.17 to $1.24 per share.

Operating profit at the television business, which includes stations in Dallas, Houston and Phoenix, fell 10.6 percent to $64.7 million, while sales declined 3.6 percent to $177.7 million as political advertising revenue dried up.

Shelby bill would tighten oversight of Fannie, Freddie

U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby introduced legislation yesterday that would create a federal regulator with the authority to restrict the portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two biggest buyers of U.S. mortgages.

The legislation, responding to more than $13 billion in accounting errors at the government-charted companies, would authorize a regulator to impose risk-based capital requirements to ensure they have sufficient reserves.

The measure stops short of mandating a reduction in the combined $1.5 trillion in mortgage portfolios as urged by Treasury Secretary John Snow and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. Portfolios would likely still be cut under the bill since the holdings must meet a limited list of "permissible" holdings, said analysts including Jim Vogel, head of agency debt research at FTN Financial in Memphis, Tenn.

"The Shelby Senate Banking Committee bill would slash Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac portfolios if it passed in current form," Vogel said. The list would allow a "miniscule" portion of what is currently held, he said.

Under Shelby's measure, the director of the new entity can make adjustments to the eligible holdings as he considers the safety and soundness of the government-sponsored entities, and risks they pose to the financial system.

New Microsoft system to release late next year

Microsoft said yesterday that the new version of its Windows operating system would be named Vista and would be released in late 2006.

The first of two test versions of the program will be made available to corporate technology managers on Aug. 3, the company said. The new version has been known as Longhorn since development began more than four years ago.

The name was chosen after eight months of research and focus groups because it "captures the idea of clarity," company executives said.

Windows Vista will be the first major upgrade to Microsoft's flagship product since the release of Windows XP in 2001. Windows runs on more than 90 percent of the world's computers and accounts for about a third of the company's revenue.

Settlement close in radio dispute, people say

Eliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general, is close to a settlement with one of the world's largest record companies to resolve accusations that it used improper tactics to influence radio programmers to play its songs, people involved in the discussions said last night.

The agreement between Spitzer and the record company, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, one of four music conglomerates under investigation, is expected to be announced on Monday, these people said. They cautioned, however, that the talks were continuing and could still break down.

The settlement is expected to establish a blueprint for agreements that Spitzer will probably seek with the three other major record companies, all of which have received subpoenas.

As part of the settlement, Sony BMG, the second-biggest of the four major music conglomerates, is expected to admit to misconduct in its radio promotion practices and agree to a series of changes that would limit attempts to influence airplay, according to people involved in the discussion.