HAWAII

Mobi PCS opens kiosk at Waikele

Wireless provider Mobi PCS will open a new retail kiosk at Waikele Premium Outlets near the Coach store today.

Mobi PCS will now be available through 14 stores and kiosks across the state, as well as through its network of 81 authorized dealers.

The Waikele kiosk will offer unlimited voice, Web-access and Hele broadband services; wireless phones; and accessories from manufacturers including Nokia, LG, Motorola and Kyocera.

For more information visit www.mobipcs.com.

Auntie Pasto's celebrates 25 years

Auntie Pasto's, Ed Wary's Italian-American restaurant at 1099 S. Beretania St., will celebrate its 25th anniversary on Dec. 7 with a benefit for Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children.

There will be two seatings available at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Auntie Pasto's will be serving an all-you-can-eat, four-course meal of antipasti plates with salami and cheese, salad, and pasta platters. The entree course will be plates of chicken cacciatore, opakapaka piccata-style and pepper steak. The finishing course will be a dessert sampler of pumpkin tiramisu and honey-saffron cream brulee.

The $35 a person price also includes either one glass of house wine or a soft drink. For reservations, call 591-9733.

NATION

Chesapeake Energy may sell stock

Oklahoma City, Okla. » Chesapeake Energy Corp., the nation's largest producer of natural gas, seeks to raise up to $1.8 billion through common stock sales in an effort to fund its drilling and exploration activities and mitigate the impact of lower natural gas prices on cash flow.

In two filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Wednesday, the company said it will issue shares worth as much as $1 billion before fees and also registered 50 million shares worth at most $791 million for potential sale.

Oklahoma City, Okla.-based Chesapeake said it will use proceeds from the $1 billion offering for general corporate purposes, including fund exploration, development and other capital expenditures.

WORLD

German unemployment at 7.1%

BERLIN » Germany's jobless rate dipped in November to 7.1 percent as the number of people out of work hit a new 16-year low, but the national labor agency warned yesterday of increasing signs that the economic crisis will soon hit the job market in Europe's biggest economy.

The unadjusted unemployment rate declined from 7.2 percent in October, the Federal Labor Agency said. It said a total of 2.988 million people were registered as jobless - 8,000 fewer than a month earlier and the lowest level since November1992.

Former UBS execs to repay funds

LUCERNE, Switzerland » Former executives who oversaw massive losses at Swiss banking giant UBS AG will repay a further $18.45 million, Chairman Peter Kurer said yesterday.

The repayments by the unidentified individuals bring to nearly $59 million the amount of money handed back to the bank by former executives over the past year.

“;I am continuing to hold talks concerning further repayments and waivers, and would greatly welcome it if it comes to that,”; Kurer told a special shareholders meeting.

Kurer said he was treating the latest repayments as confidential.

Australia wheat firm may merge

Melbourne » AWB, Australia's largest wheat exporter, said it is in talks with ABB Grain Ltd. for a possible merger.

“;These discussions are ongoing,”; Melbourne-based AWB said yesterday in a statement to the Australian stock exchange. “;The transaction will only progress if appropriate terms can be agreed and due diligence is completed to each party's satisfaction.

Combining ABB Grain, Australia's largest barley exporter, with AWB would create a company with 400 Landmark farm merchandise stores.