Hawaii Pacific Health, HMAA near deal

Hawaii Pacific Health said Tuesday that it has reached an agreement in principal on a new contract to continue in Hawaii Medical Assurance Association’s provider network.

Details are yet to be worked out, according to an HPH spokeswoman.

HMAA received a 90-day termination notice in May of its participating provider contract with Hawaii Pacific Health, the state’s largest hospital system.

HMAA, the state’s third-largest health insurer with 42,000 members, and Hawaii Pacific — operating Straub Clinic & Hospital, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, Pali Momi Medical Center and Wilcox Memorial Hospital — have been in negotiations on a new contract for at least six months, Arnie Baptiste Jr., president of HMAA’s third-party administrator, Hawaii Western Management Group Inc., told the Star-Advertiser earlier.

An existing contract, which has been in place since 2008, expires Aug. 15.

Target to open fourth Hawaii store

Target Corp. will open its fourth store in the islands in Hilo on July 20.

The Hawaii island store will be the first to offer fresh produce and meat.

Minneapolis-based Target will host an official grand opening on July 24.

The retail giant, which has more than 1,700 stores spread throughout 49 states, began construction earlier this year on what will be its fifth Hawaii location in Kailua, scheduled to open in July 2012.

4 isle shipping firms win Air Force pact

Four Hawaii shipping companies have won bids to provide cargo transportation services under an Air Force program with a maximum ceiling of up to $70.5 million, the U.S. Department of Defense announced this week.

Young Bros. Inc., Horizon Lines LLC, Matson Navigation Co. and Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines LLC are part of a group of 11 contractors awarded contracts for cargo sea-lift transportation services between the mainland and Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico.

The agreements that begin Aug. 1 have a base period of four months with two possible one-year options.

Bank of Hawaii stock rated ‘underperform’

Bank of Hawaii’s stock was downgraded Tuesday to "underperform" from "neutral" by Bank of America with a target price of $45.

In a separate action, Rodman and Renshaw initiated coverage of the bank with a "market perform" rating but didn’t list a target price.

Bankoh’s stock rose 29 cents to $46.04 on Tuesday.

Japan reduces annual growth forecast

TOKYO » Japan’s central bank cut its annual economic growth forecast Tuesday due to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami but said the economy is beginning to recover.

The Bank of Japan said after a one-day meeting that its policy board lowered expectations for economic growth to 0.4 percent from 0.6 percent for the current fiscal year ending in March.

The central bank said the nation’s factories were recovering, as well as demand from households and businesses. It said the country is on track to rebound over the second half of the fiscal year.

"Japan’s economic activity is picking up with an easing of the supply-side constraints caused by the earthquake disaster," the bank said in a statement.

The country’s infrastructure was heavily damaged by the March disasters, which destroyed factories, ravaged large swaths of the northeast coast and caused a major nuclear power accident. Manufacturers struggled with parts shortages and consumer spending tumbled.

Flat job openings in May signal slow hiring

WASHINGTON » It’s shaping up to be a long, tough summer for job seekers: The number of job postings didn’t increase in May, the latest sign that hiring is unlikely to pick up any time soon. Employers advertised nearly 3 million job openings, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That is the same amount as in April and down from 3.1 million in March.

May’s figure is higher than the 2.1 million job openings posted in July 2009, one month after the recession ended, and the lowest total since the government began recording the data a decade ago. But it is also significantly below the 4.4 million openings recorded in December 2007, when the recession began.

ON THE MOVE

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii has announced that Dr. Sally Bowles has joined its Maui Lani Clinic medical team. She was previously a pediatrician with Pediatric Medical Associates and Culpeper Regional Hospital in Virginia.

Panda Restaurant Group has donated $73,800 to Kapiolani Children’s Miracle Network. The award will be used to support hospitalized sick and injured children.

Family Support Hawaii has appointed Bethany Albrecht as Malama Perinatal Program’s interim program director. She will lead a team of specialists providing resources for Hispanic, Pacific Island, Filipino and Hawaiian teen women and their babies throughout Hawaii island.

The Alexander & Baldwin Foundation has donated $22,500 to the Office of Continuing Education and Training at University of Hawaii Maui College. The training grants will help reduce the cost of classes for individuals as well as stimulate enrollment for the college.

Hawaii Medical Assurance Association has named Reg Baker as senior vice president. He has more than 20 years of experience as chief financial officer and chief operating officer for several large and midsize companies.