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160 organizations to recruit at job fair

Recruiters from more than 160 local organizations will seek workers at this year's Job Quest fair, to be held Sept. 20 at Blaisdell Center.

More than 5,000 job seekers have gone to the event in the past, many seeking to trade up to a better job or check out other pastures.

Job Quest gives recruiters and job seekers an initial chance to make contact as well as apply for positions. General admission is $2, though students with a valid ID can get in for $1. Job seekers can preregister at www.successhi.com.

The event is sponsored by Success Advertising, Altres Staffing and Oahu WorkLinks.

Nominations sought for awards

The U.S. Small Business Administration is seeking nominations for the 2006 Small Business Awards, which recognize contributions to the state's overall economy.

Among the awards is Small Business Person of the Year, which can go to a single owner or a partnership of up to four managing partners. One top person or firm is selected from each county in the state.

The deadline for submissions is Nov. 4. For more information call 541-2973.

China Southern to buy 10 planes

China Southern Airlines Co., the nation's second-biggest airline, will buy 10 Airbus SAS planes valued at as much as $1.8 billion, helping the European company narrow the gap with Boeing Co. in the world's fastest-growing aviation market.

China Southern signed an order for eight A330-300s and two A330-200 aircraft which it will use for domestic and Asian routes, Airbus said in an e-mailed statement today. U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and China's Premier Wen Jiabao attended the signing ceremony in Beijing.

Chinese state-controlled airlines have been the world's biggest buyers of aircraft this year, ordering 165 planes valued at $17 billion from Airbus and Boeing. More than 64 percent were Boeing models. Airbus is counting on demand from China to maintain its global lead in deliveries over Boeing.

The Airbus order will help Blair's attempt to sidestep friction caused by rising Chinese exports to the EU.

Japan's household confidence rises

Japanese households became more optimistic in July reflecting rising wages and better job prospects, adding to expectations that consumer spending will keep supporting growth in the world's second-largest economy.

Confidence among households with two or more people rose to 48.1 from 46.6 in June, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. Readings below 50 mean pessimists outnumber optimists. The release was delayed by almost a month because of concern about the accuracy of the data supplied by the market research firm used to carry out the survey.

Consumer confidence measures have become important for investors as Japan emerges from its fourth recession since 1991, fueled by the strongest household spending in more than a decade. Spending by consumers, which represents 60 percent of the economy, is lifting sales at companies such as Nissan Motor Co. and KDDI Corp., which in turn are investing on expansion.

"Consumer spending, together with domestic investment spending, are leaving the Japanese economy a little less dependent on exports," said David Cohen, an economist at Action Economics in Singapore. "Over the past decade Japan has been notoriously unable to develop a self-sustaining recovery. We're gradually getting out of that rut."