Horizon net off amid lower fuel fees

Horizon Lines Inc. posted a 24 percent drop in third-quarter earnings and warned that the current quarter will be characterized by lingering economic weakness that will continue to affect volumes.

The state's second-largest ocean shipper said volumes were down 5.7 percent in the period ended Sept. 30 from the year-earlier quarter but that it was better than the previous three quarters. Net income fell to $8.4 million, or 27 cents a share, from $11.1 million, or 37 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue declined 12.7 percent to $308 million from $352.6 million. The largest factor in the $44.6 million revenue decline was a $23.4 million reduction in fuel surcharges.

PBN's Fuller to retire in S. Dakota

Pacific Business News Publisher Larry Fuller, 68, will retire from the paper and leave Hawaii to move back to South Dakota with his wife, Suzanne, the weekly paper reported yesterday. Fuller has been publisher for the last 11 years, a tenure second only to that of the late founder, George Mason. Mason established the paper in 1962 and ran it until 1992. Fuller's successor has not yet been named.

First Hawaiian to help with furloughs

First Hawaiian Bank has extended bank-sponsored child-care assistance options to Furlough Friday-affected employees, said Don Horner, First Hawaiian Bank chairman and chief executive officer.

The five options include a subsidy of up to 50 percent of the cost of day care at participating providers and other child care activities to a maximum of $15 per child; FHB Day at the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center, in which the bank will cover admission for employees and their children; the FHB Vacation Bank, into which employees may donate unused vacation for use by affected employees who have exhausted their vacation time; an extra hour off before or after work to give employees time to pick up or drop off children from day care; and a money education fair featuring guest instructors leading age-appropriate classes on basic finances for children.

Icahn steps down from Yahoo board

Billionaire Carl Icahn, who joined Yahoo! Inc.'s board last year after threatening a proxy fight, stepped down from the position, saying the company no longer needed an activist director. Icahn's attention is now focused elsewhere and he doesn't have enough time to devote to Yahoo, according to a resignation letter yesterday.

Icahn, 73, had sought to take control of the board and oust then-Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang last year, after the company spurned a $47.5 billion acquisition offer by Microsoft Corp. To ward off a proxy fight, Yahoo gave board seats to Icahn and two of his candidates in August 2008. Since Icahn became a director, Yahoo hired Carol Bartz as CEO and forged a search-engine partnership with Microsoft.

Ticketmaster, Blaisdell extend 10-year contract

Ticketmaster and the Neal S. Blaisdell complex announced a multiyear extension of a 10-year contract, which will continue to include ticket services for the Waikiki Shell.

The extension calls for the installation of multipurpose, touch-screen Ticketmaster kiosks at the facilities and the introduction of TicketExchange technology for events. The kiosks will eliminate the need for customers who already have purchased tickets to stand in a will-call line.

ON THE MOVE

Graham Builders President and Chief Executive officer Danny Graham has been elected to the board of directors of Hawaii Better Business Bureau for three years.

HomeStreet Bank has hired Richard Abe as residential loan officer. He will be based in the Honolulu home loan center at 1221 Kapiolani Blvd.

The Kona Brewers Festival appointed Kate Jacobson as the event's executive director. She previously served as a capital campaign director/community liaison for Innovations Public Charter School in Kailua-Kona as well as being involved with Aloha Performing Arts Co. and Holualoa Foundation for Arts.