Jobless applications drop may lead to hiring

WASHINGTON » A steady decline in the number of people applying for weekly unemployment benefits is the latest signal that the economy has strengthened and businesses may be poised to step up hiring.

Applications fell last week to a seasonally adjusted 381,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, the lowest level since late February. The four-week average for applications, which smooths week-to-week fluctuations, fell for the ninth time in 11 weeks to an eight-month low.

The downward trend bolsters the view that the economy has improved from its spring slump when many feared another recession was likely. Consumer confidence is up, retailers reported a strong start to the holiday shopping season and the unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest point in 2 1⁄2 years.

EU tries for new eurozone accord

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM » European Union leaders failed to get the bloc’s 27 members to back a change to the EU treaty, and the 17 eurozone countries are now trying to reach their own accord, an EU official said today from Brussels.

Other non-euro countries are invited to join the new treaty, which is meant to set up much tighter rules on national fiscal policy for the 17 countries that use the euro in an attempt to solve the worsening debt crisis, the official said.

The official was speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information.

Germany and France in particular had heralded the new treaty basis as an important step to emerge from the crisis, which has already dragged Greece, Portugal and Ireland into multibillion-euro bailouts, but the failure to get all 27 EU countries to agree will likely be seen as a huge setback for European unity.

At the same time, the new treaty — which is likely to introduce more automatic sanctions for overspenders and force states to include debt brakes into their national constitutions — will draw the 17-country eurozone much closer together. States will be forced to give up some central parts of their sovereignty, especially when it comes to deciding how much money to spend.

Japan sees growth even as investment dips

TOKYO » Japan’s government says the economy grew slightly less than its initial estimate in the July-September period as business investment wilted in the face of growing global challenges.

The Cabinet Office announced today in Japan that the world’s third-largest economy grew at an annualized rate of 5.6 percent during the three-month period. It had estimated gross domestic product growth of 6 percent in a preliminary report last month. The figure still represents the first growth in four quarters and a robust rebound from the March earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Twitter redesigns service around new tabs

Twitter Inc., the microblogging service that lets people send 140-character messages, redesigned the site to make it faster and simpler to navigate.

The service will feature tabs at the top of the screen that let users more easily access their home pages, connect with others and discover new content, Twitter said Thursday at an event in San Francisco. The updated site will be available to all users in the next few weeks.

Twitter is enhancing the service to win over more users and make the site more attractive to advertisers. The company has been coping with executive turnover and a slow roll-out of its ad program, which promises to be its main source of revenue.

Corzine distances self from firm’s downfall

WASHINGTON » Summoned by Congress, Jon Corzine embraced a bold strategy Thursday to distance himself from MF Global’s fall and $1.2 billion in missing clients’ money:

Answer each question. Be courteous. And don’t huddle with your lawyer before replying. He said very little in his testimony to the House Agriculture Committee. Nevertheless, it was a risky strategy because anything Corzine might say could be used against him in a courtroom, should he ever be charged in the MF Global case.

Yet the former CEO of the securities firm never declined to answer questions. The one-time senator and New Jersey governor was subpoenaed by his former colleagues to explain how MF Global collapsed just over a month ago in the eighth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. It’s the first time in more than 100 years that Congress has subpoenaed a former senator to testify, according to Senate historian Don Ritchie.

Corzine said several times that he did not become aware of the shortfall in client accounts until Oct. 30, one day before MF Global filed for bankruptcy following its disastrous bets on European debt.

On the Move

» ABC Stores has promoted the following employees: 

Vincent Fong to district manager in charge of 18 ABC Stores in Waikiki. He started as a manager trainee.

Donald Takenaka to operations development manager. His first position was part-time stock clerk.

Kevin Chung to district manager in charge of 19 ABC stores in Waikiki. He started as a stock clerk.

» Island Insurance Foundation has donated more than $75,000 to the following nonprofit organizations in Hawaii: Aha Punana Leo Hawaiian Language Preschool, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, the Hawaii Academy of Science, the Hawaii Council on Economic Education and the Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation. The funds will be used to improve local education.