Business Briefs

Hawaiian Air gets eighth Airbus A330

Hawaiian Airlines’ eighth Airbus A330-200 aircraft, the third of four scheduled to be delivered this year, arrived at Honolulu Airport on Monday.

The plane was flown from the manufacturing plant in Toulouse, France, to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where it was used for training in advance of Hawaiian’s service launch there on June 4. It then proceeded to Los Angeles and arrived Monday as a scheduled passenger flight to Honolulu.

Hawaiian plans to take delivery in June of one more new A330 this year to bring the company’s total to nine. Hawaiian also will take delivery of 13 new A330s between 2013 and 2015.

Yahoo to sell half of its Alibaba stake

HONG KONG » Struggling Internet company Yahoo Inc. has secured a lifeline after agreeing to sell half of its prized stake in Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba for about $7.1 billion, with most of the cash going to shareholders.

The deal, announced Sunday in the U.S., calls for Alibaba Group to buy back half of the 40 percent stake that Yahoo owns in the Chinese company for $6.3 billion cash plus up to $800 million of Alibaba preferred shares.

After paying taxes, Yahoo expects to pocket about $4.2 billion.

JPMorgan puts off stock repurchase plans

NEW YORK » JPMorgan Chase is suspending plans to buy back its own stock 10 days after the bank disclosed a large trading loss.

The largest U.S. bank by assets, JPMorgan disclosed the $2 billion trading loss on May 10 in a hastily-called conference call with investors and journalists.

The loss, from an ill-timed trade on so-called credit derivatives, has rattled investor confidence in JPMorgan Chase, leading to a 20 percent decline in the value of the stock, lopping off $30 billion of market value.

The loss also has hurt the reputation of CEO Jamie Dimon, who has apologized to investors several times since the announcement.

Trial of ex-Goldman board member begins

NEW YORK » A federal prosecutor accused former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta on Monday of feeding inside investment tips to a corrupt hedge fund manager, while Gupta’s lawyer told a jury that the relationship between the Wall Street heavyweights was above board.

By sharing confidential information with his close friend, Gupta "threw away his duties, threw away his responsibilities and broke the law," Assistant U.S. Attorney Reed Brodsky told jurors in opening statements at Gupta’s highly anticipated insider-trading trial in Manhattan.

Broadsky recounted how former multibillionaire Raj Rajaratnam earned close to $1 million after Gupta told him in a phone call that Goldman had received an offer from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway to invest $5 billion in the banking giant in 2008.

Economists upbeat on job growth, housing

NEW YORK » A new survey shows economists are growing slightly more optimistic about recovery in the job and housing markets but expect other pillars of the economy to remain weak.

The National Association for Business Economists says in a report issued Monday that its forecasters expect modest growth for the remainder of the year, with the pace picking up in 2013.

Still, the 54 economists NABE surveyed expect consumer spending, business investment and gross domestic product to remain below historic norms.

Eaton buys Cooper Industries for $11.46B

CLEVELAND » Eaton Corp. has agreed to purchase Cooper Industries PLC in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $11.46 billion that is designed to expand its reach in the global electrical power and distribution industry.

The deal announced Monday would create a company that manufactures products for a wide range of electrical uses, from power grids and lighting to electrical, hydraulic and transmission systems for vehicles, the aerospace industry and the military.

The new company, likely to be called Eaton Global Corp. PLC, will be incorporated in Ireland and headed by Eaton Chairman and CEO Alexander Cutler. The deal needs the approval of shareholders of both firms and the Irish High Court. It is expected to close in the second half of the year.

SHIP AHOY!

Kaimana Ka‘apana

ON THE MOVE

Kaimana Ka’apana has been promoted to partner at New York Life Insurance Co., from management associate in its Honolulu office. Before joining the company as an agent in 2008, Ka’apana was a medical technician at the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii.

Hans S. Weger has been named chief financial officer with Outrigger Enterprises Group. He previously served as chief financial officer, executive vice president and treasurer of LaSalle Hotel Properties.

Hans S. Weger

The Hawaii Permanente Medical Group has raised $16,000 through its golf tournament held last year at Honolulu Country Club. The money will support community groups, including the American Cancer Society, Catholic Charities, Hawaii Foodbank, Leeward Shelter for Women and Children and Special Olympics, all on Oahu; Family Support Services of West Hawaii, Hawaii Island Foodbank and Malaai Garden at Waimea Middle School, all on the Big Island; and the Bone Marrow Donor Registry on Maui.