It’s Kids Inc. time again at Windward Mall

The third annual Kids Inc. Business Showcase at Windward Mall will be July 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A dozen youthful entrepreneurs will set up booths in the center of the Kaneohe mall and will offer a service, product they’ve created from scratch, or will resell a product from a wholesaler.

This year’s Kids Inc. vendors received the most votes online from about 40 entries to win their booths, and include A Little Bit of Everything, Awesome Shoppers, Christian’s Homegrown Creations, Creations by Breanna, Curly Girls-Girly Curls, Island Treasures, Joelle’s Custom Artwork, Kaleohano Images, Lemonade for Littles, Tattoo Stylez, Vertical Bites and Dream It!

The budding entrepreneurs will offer items including reusable shopping bags created from T-shirts, bite-size snacks on sticks, handmade jewelry and homegrown plants. Each participant will keep 100 percent of proceeds their booths generate.

Peet’s Coffee opens shop in Kailua

Peet’s Coffee & Tea has opened for business at 143 Hekili St. in Kailua. In addition to coffee and tea, the shop also serves breakfast sandwiches and pastries.

It is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.

The 648-square-foot cafe was opened by Chipper Pastron and Sal Casola Jr., who opened Rose City Diner in what was then called Restaurant Row in 1988. The partners operate two other Peet’s locations, both in the Sheraton Waikiki.

Jobless rates fell in 22 states in June

WASHINGTON » Unemployment rates dropped in 22 states last month and stayed the same in 14, as the nation at large posted a fifth straight month of solid hiring.

The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates rose in 14 states. Meanwhile, employers added jobs in 33 states and cut back in 17.

In Hawaii the unemployment rate remained at 4.4 percent for the third straight month even as employers added fewer jobs, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported Thursday.

The biggest drop in the unemployment rate occurred in Illinois, where it fell to 7.1 percent from 7.5 percent. The state’s rate has fallen by 0.8 percentage point in the past two months, partly because more people have given up searching for work.

AbbVie, Shire agree on $55B combination

The drugmaker AbbVie has reached a deal worth roughly $55 billion to combine with British counterpart Shire and become the latest U.S. company to seek an overseas haven from tax rates back home.

The companies said Friday they will create a new company that is incorporated on the British island of Jersey, where Shire currently is incorporated. But the new company will be controlled by shareholders of North Chicago, Ill.-based AbbVie, who will own about 75 percent of the new company’s stock.

Monitor to watch Heald College parent

WASHINGTON » Former federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has agreed to serve as an independent monitor of a troubled for-profit education company serving 72,000 students that has agreed to sell or close its campuses, the Education Department said Friday.

Fitzgerald prosecuted high-profile cases against Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

As part of an agreement with the Education Department, Corinthian Colleges, based in Santa Ana, Calif., has said it will close a dozen U.S. campuses in 11 states and place 85 up for sale, including Heald College in Honolulu. The company owns Everest College, Heald College and WyoTech schools. About a dozen others in Canada will also be sold.

The company also agreed that an independent monitor would examine its compliance, including making sure that plans are followed that allow students to complete their programs. Some students are eligible for full refunds, and the company has said it would work with the monitor to establish a reserve fund of at least $30 million to pay those funds. The company, which receives about $1.4 billion annually in federal student aid, continues to face multiple state and federal investigations.

GE profit up 13% on aviation, oil and gas

NEW YORK » General Electric’s net income rose 13 percent in the second quarter on strong performance from its aviation and oil and gas divisions. The company said orders, especially those in developing countries, were strong and that the global economic environment continues to be positive.

Second-quarter profit increased to $3.55 billion, or 35 cents a share, from $3.13 billion, or 30 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue climbed 3.2 percent to $36.23 billion from $35.12 billion.

ON THE MOVE

Longs Drugs has announced:

>> Chanda Keawe has been appointed marketing manager. Her responsibilities 

include product promotional strategy, vendor management and new product integration for the 54 Hawaii Longs Drugs locations. 

>>Gerry Caliva has been promoted 

to district manager. Caliva has been with the company since 1985 and is currently managing 12 Oahu stores as well as all Maui locations. 

King & Neel has announced the following assistant vice presidents who have become new owners in the insurance agency:

>>Sean Spencer joined the company in 2008. He has 15 years of diverse claims handling and risk management experience, including becoming an invaluable asset in the areas of employee benefits, construction bonding and self-insurance group programs.

>>Patricia "Tricia" Miyashiro joined the company in 2013 as an insurance operations manager. Before joining King & Neel, Miyashiro managed the surety/bond department at Island Insurance Co. for 14 years.