Gas prices fall for 26th straight day

Gasoline prices dropped yesterday for the 26th straight day as lower oil prices continue to work their way to the nation's drivers. It looks like there is room for pump prices to move even lower.

After hitting a national average of $2.929 per gallon on May 6, retail gasoline prices have fallen 20.2 cents, or nearly 7 percent, to $2.727 per gallon yesterday.

Prices in Hawaii also have dropped, but not at the same speed as across the country. The average price yesterday for regular was $3.492, which was lower by 7.5 cents, or 2.1 percent, from $3.567 a month ago. Hawaii's gas prices are the second highest in the nation behind Alaska's at $3.53.

Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service said while the daily streak of lower prices is likely to end before mid-June, prices still have another 10 or 12 cents to fall.

Prices in some parts of the country already are well below the national average. Ohio, Missouri, South Carolina and Oklahoma are among the states where gas has dropped below $2.60 per gallon.

Citi revamps consumer finance unit

NEW YORK » Citigroup Inc. is closing 330 branches of its U.S. consumer finance business as part of a restructuring aimed at finding a buyer for the unit, the bank said yesterday.

The branch closures at CitiFinancial will result in about 500 to 600 job cuts across 48 states, the bank said. There are 19 branches in Hawaii, but local representatives said they weren't aware of any closures in the state.

The U.S. business of CitiFinancial also will be split into two parts, one offering personal, home equity and refinancing loans and the other handling loan modifications and restructuring, Citigroup said.

CitiFinancial will be renamed after the reorganization is complete.

HP to cut 9,000 jobs in services unit

NEW YORK » Hewlett-Packard Co., the world's largest information-technology company, plans to lay off about 9,000 employees as it tries to cut costs in its back-office computing centers and deepens its use of software, rather than people, to do some of the work that those hubs require.

The changes to these data centers, which are clusters of computers that run websites and process information for HP's corporate customers, will be made over about three years, the company said yesterday. The layoffs amount to about 3 percent of HP's global work force, which had 304,000 employees as of October, the most recent figure available.

Lawmakers to headline Energy Day

Gubernatorial candidate and former congressman Neil Abercrombie and Lt. Gov. James “;Duke”; Aiona will speak at the second annual Hawaii Clean Energy Day.

Lawmakers and local energy officials will discuss implications of the recent legislative session, the next steps to achieve the state's clean energy initiatives and the state of the industry.

The event will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Friday at the Laniakea YWCA. General admission is $20, and includes pupu and drinks. You can register at http://www.hawaiienergypolicy.hawaii.edu/hced2010.

———

———

ON THE MOVE

  Aqua Hotels & Resorts has hired the following:

» Jernell Mendonca as general manager. She has more than 20 years of Hawaii hotel and lodging experience, including having held management positions with Aston Hotels & Resorts and Castle Resorts & Hotels at various properties.

» Luana Kekaula-Castillo as sales manager of the Maile Sky Court. She has more than 25 years of hospitality experience, including having held sales management positions with Castle Resorts & Hotels, Business Leisure Holidays, Aston Hotels & Resorts and Ala Moana Hotel.

Actuarial Consultants has announced that Jeff Esmond has received the designation of Certified Pension Consultant from the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries. Esmond heads the ACI Hawaii office where he administers defined contribution and benefit plans.

SS-20 Building Systems, of Bradenton, Fla., was awarded the American Buildings Company Excellence in Design Award. The award is in the category of self-storage facilities for Lock Up Kapiolani in Honolulu.

RevoluSun has hired Gregg Murphy as project developer. He has 12 years of solar experience, including as owner of Solar Northwest.