State revenue down 13.9 percent

Hawaii general fund deposits are down 13.9 percent three months into the current fiscal year from the year-ago period.

In a statement yesterday, the state Department of Taxation attributed the decline mainly to the release of accrued income tax refunds in July. It says if the refunds were factored out, general fund deposits in July, August and September would have increased 4 percent. The department says first-quarter hotel room tax collections were up 32.4 percent, while corporate income taxes were down 87.3 percent.

For September, general excise and use taxes amounted to $201.2 million, helping the largest single category of collections increase 5.2 percent over the first quarter of the fiscal year.

Hawaiian Air tops U.S. in punctuality

Hawaiian Airlines continued its reign as the nation’s most punctual airline with 95.6 percent of its flights in August arriving within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival time. The nation’s 18 largest airlines reported an on-time rate of 81.7 percent.

The airline also had the fewest canceled flights during the month with only four cancellations out of 6,349 total flights, or less than 0.1 percent, and the lowest rate of mishandled bags with 1.61 mishandled baggage reports for every 1,000 passengers served.

Ex-Advertiser chief Webber retires

Lee Webber is retiring from Gannett Co. after 40 years, the company said yesterday.

Webber was publisher and president of the Honolulu Advertiser from 2007 until this year. The 154-year-old Advertiser published its last edition on June 6.

Gannett sold the Advertiser to Oahu Publications Inc., owner of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The two papers were combined into the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, which published its first edition on June 7.

Before joining the Advertiser, Webber was president and publisher of Guam Publications and helped launch USA Today Asia.

Apple stock nears $300 on iPad sales

SEATTLE » Apple Inc.’s stock flirted with $300 yesterday as investors high on the iPad’s promise pushed shares to a record peak. Analysts see few reasons to believe shares will stop there.

As was the case with the iPhone, Apple’s iPad is setting the standards for this generation of tablet computers as competitors scramble to match the design and functions.

In the first quarter it was available, Apple sold 3.3 million iPads. That’s about three times the number of iPhones sold in the first full quarter that the smart phones were on sale in 2007. Shares in Apple traded as high as $299.50 yesterday before ending the day at $298.54, a gain of $3.18.

GM workers get chance to buy at IPO

DETROIT » General Motors’ employees, retirees and car dealers will get a chance to invest in their company when the automaker’s stock is sold to the public.

GM sent letters to workers and dealers in the U.S. and Canada on Oct. 5 giving them the opportunity to buy shares when the initial public offering takes place in mid-November on an undetermined date. The deadline to register for the sale is Oct. 22.

Employees and dealers will be able to buy the stock at its offering price, which has not been set. A government watchdog’s estimate is $133 per share. Workers, retirees and dealers must invest more than $1,000 to buy stock, but the minimum and maximum number of shares a person can buy is still being determined, the letter said. GM has about 600,000 employees and retirees in the U.S and Canada.

ON THE MOVE

Hagadone Printing Co. has appointed Jason Kama strategic development director. He was previously the director of digital services for Success Advertising Hawaii as well as an account executive at Communications Pacific and Hawaii Business magazine.

Prudential Locations has announced the following top awards for September:

» Shannon Smith is "Lister of the Month."

» Mary Farkash is "Newcomer of the Month."

» Michael Koyama is "Highest Producer of the Month.

» Sherrie Kuroda is "Salesperson of the Month."

David Chevalier has been appointed chairman of the board of the Helicopter Association International. He is owner of Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.