Hawaiian No. 1 in nation for arrivals

Hawaiian Airlines captured the top spots nationally in January for on-time performance, fewest flight cancellations and fewest misplaced bags, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Hawaiian had 90.8 percent of its flights arrive on schedule during the month to exceed the industry average of 77 percent by 13.8 percentage points. The airline has led the nation in punctuality from 2004 to 2008.

The carrier also had the fewest flight cancellations with only 30 of 6,273 total flights for an industry-best score of 0.5 percent. Hawaiian also was first in baggage handling with an industry-low of 2.01 mishandled baggage reports for every 1,000 passengers served.

Isle high-tech corporation gets grant

The U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration has awarded a $100,000 grant to the High Technology Development Corp. of Honolulu to organize an entrepreneur support services network that will mentor entrepreneurs across the state.

“;This EDA grant will bring together a collaboration of Hawaii's universities, a technology enterprise network, venture capitalists and financial institutions to provide support to budding entrepreneurs in order to help them succeed and create new jobs,”; said Sandra Waters, EDA chief financial officer and chief administrative officer.

Queen's, Humana team up

Queen's Medical Center will provide in-network medical care to members of Humana's ChoicePPO Medicare Advantage Plan under a long-term participating hospital agreement.

Members of Humana's ChoicePPO Medicare Advantage Plan will have in-network benefit access to all inpatient, outpatient and emergency services provided by Queen's, which has 505 acute care beds.

BNP Paribas recognized by magazine

BNP Paribas, the parent company of Honolulu-based First Hawaiian Bank, has been chosen as one of the top 10 World's Safest Banks in 2009 by Global Finance magazine.

The magazine said that the banks were selected through a comparison of the long-term credit ratings and total assets of the 500 largest banks around the world.

Superferry donated $165K in '08

The Hawaii Superferry says it gave more than $165,000 worth of donations and sponsorships to nonprofits and charitable causes in 2008. More than 100 groups benefited from the superferry's community giving, which supported several causes, including education, arts, science, youth mentoring and preservation of Hawaiian culture and natural resources.

Japan GDP contracts 12.1%

TOKYO » Japan's economy in the fourth quarter didn't shrink quite as much as initially estimated, but revised figures still marked the fastest pace of contraction in 35 years, the government said today.

Gross domestic product, or the total value of the nation's goods and services, fell at a 12.1 percent annual rate in the October-December quarter, slightly better than the Cabinet Office's preliminary reading of a 12.7 percent contraction.

That's the steepest drop for Japan since the oil shock of 1974 and is double the pace of the decline in the U.S.

On a quarterly basis, GDP dropped 3.2 percent, improved from an initial reading of a 3.3 percent decline due in part to more-than-expected public investment, the government said.

Japan's economy, the world's second largest, has contracted for three straight quarters and is mired in its steepest downturn since the end of World War II. Like its Asian neighbors, the export-reliant country has been battered by the collapse in global demand.

For all of 2008, the economy shrank a revised 0.6 percent — the first decline in nine years, according to the Cabinet Office.