Electric car demonstration set for Laie
A community introduction to electric vehicles is set for 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at Laie Shopping Center.
Electric vehicles will be available to inspect and test-drive (with valid driver’s license) along with demonstrations of the newly installed electric car charging station at Laie Shopping Center. Displays on energy, green living and sustainability will be featured with volunteers from several organizations on hand to answer questions. Free educational materials and car air fresheners will be available.
Participating in the event are Hawaiian Electric Co., Better Place, BYU-Hawaii’s Sustainable World Action & Technology Team, Cutter Mitsubishi, Polynesian Cultural Center, Hawaii Reserves Inc., Laie Shopping Center and Envision Laie.
Better Place will offer registration for free charging through the end of the year.
Corzine ordered $200M transfer, memo says
WASHINGTON » A former MF Global executive appears to contradict testimony from Jon Corzine, saying the former senator and New Jersey governor ordered the transfer of $200 million last fall out of a customer account days before the brokerage firm collapsed, according to an email obtained by congressional investigators.
Edith O’Brien, MF Global’s former assistant treasurer, says Corzine ordered the money shifted to one of the firm’s bank accounts overseas on Oct. 28 to cover an overdraft, according to a memo that cited the email. The email noted that the transfer was made "per JC’s direct instructions."
MF Global filed for bankruptcy protection Oct. 31. The firm failed because of a disastrous bet on European debt. About $1.6 billion of customers’ money hasn’t been recovered.
A House Financial Services subcommittee released the memo Friday in advance of a hearing Wednesday. O’Brien has been subpoenaed to testify. The Associated Press was unable to reach her for comment.
Steven Goldberg, a spokesman for Corzine, reiterated in a statement Friday that Corzine testified (in December) that there wasn’t anything he had said that "could reasonably have been interpreted as an instruction to misuse customer funds. He stands by that testimony."
New-home sales declined in February
WASHINGTON » Sales of new U.S. homes fell in February for the second straight month, a reminder that the depressed housing market remains weak despite some improvement.
The Commerce Department said Friday that new-home sales dropped 1.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 313,000 homes. Sales have fallen nearly 7 percent since December.
While a mild winter and three months of strong job growth have lifted resales, those conditions haven’t benefited the new-home market. The current pace is less than half the 700,000 that economists consider healthy.
BofA starts foreclosure rental program
WASHINGTON » Bank of America has launched a pilot program that will let some homeowners at risk of foreclosure become renters and stay in their homes.
Fewer than 1,000 borrowers in Arizona, Nevada and New York will be enrolled in the test program, which began this week. Those selected will transfer title of their homes back to Bank of America and have their mortgage debt forgiven.
The homeowners can rent the homes for up to three years at or below their area’s market rental rate. The rental payments will be less than the borrowers’ mortgage payments, the bank said. And they will not have to pay property taxes or homeowner’s insurance.
KB Home posts smaller loss as revenue rises
LOS ANGELES » KB Home said Friday that cancellations on contracts for new homes spiked in its fiscal first quarter, driving home orders down 8 percent as it heads into the spring home-selling season.
The company, which reported a sharply smaller loss for the December-to-February quarter, said the surge in canceled orders was due in part to some mortgage lenders backing away from making loans even after the buyers had been preapproved for financing. Orders also took a hit because KB raised prices in some communities in a bid to capitalize on signs that demand for housing is strengthening. For the three months ended Feb. 29, KB posted a loss of $45.8 million compared with $114.5 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 29 percent to $254.6 million from $196.9 million
US Air discussing AMR takeover, sources say
US Airways Group Inc., seeking support for a possible American Airlines merger, is discussing a takeover plan with some creditors of the bankrupt carrier and their advisers, people with knowledge of the talks said Thursday.
Executives have laid out details of US Airways’ proposal for a combined airline to some members of the unsecured creditors committee and gotten a positive reception, the sources said. The goal would be to complete a merger before American parent AMR Corp. exits Chapter 11.
ON THE MOVE
Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki has hired Robert Coburn as hotel assistant manager. His experience includes work as resort manager of Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas hotel as well as positions at Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas, Red Rock Resort & Casino and Treasure Island Hotel & Casino.
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has announced that Anne I.W. Keamo has joined the firm’s Leeward office. She has nearly 40 years of residential experience and was previously president of Properties Unlimited for the past 27 years.
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii has announced that Dr. Reina Harris, a specialist in obstetrics-gynecology, has joined the Waipio Clinic. She previously ran a private practice in Honolulu.
