Weekly U.S. jobless aid applications dip to 370,000
WASHINGTON >> The number of people seeking unemployment benefits changed little last week, signaling modest job growth.
The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications for benefits dipped by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 370,000. Applications have leveled off this month after declining from April’s five-month high of 392,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, has also dropped — it was 370,000 last week.
The lower level indicates hiring could pick up in May from April’s sluggish pace. When applications drop below 375,000 a week, it typically suggests hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate. Economists forecast employers have added 160,000 jobs this month. That’s above April’s gains but below the pace set this winter. The government will report June 1 on May job growth.
Saltchuk gives $120,000 to Shidler College
Saltchuk Resources and its Hawaii-based companies, including Young Bros. and Hawaiian Tug & Barge, have given $120,000 to the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The gift will establish the Young Brothers, Hawaiian Tug & Barge, Maui Petroleum, Hawaii Petroleum, Minit Stop, Aloha Air Cargo and Saltchuk Resources Scholarship Fund for the distance learning executive master of business administration program.
The scholarships will support students who live and work on Kauai, Maui, Molokai, Lanai or Hawaii island, starting this fall semester.
"Neighbor island residents will now have an opportunity to enroll and receive scholarships through our new distance-learning executive M.B.A. program," said Vance Roley, dean of the Shidler College of Business.
The 22-month program is intended for professionals living on the neighbor islands and for military personnel on Oahu.
NELHA to get $400K from energy agency
Hawaii will receive more than $400,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy to fund the development and deployment of distributed energy systems at the Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology (HOST) Park in Kailua-Kona, which is run by the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA).
The funds will be used to analyze how advanced energy technologies could improve energy performance at HOST Park with the development of a small micro-grid, and provide related updates to the state’s renewable energy and distributed energy resources strategy. The department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory serves as a project manager at HOST Park.
Major components of the project include development of a solar energy test bed at the HOST Park research campus; an industrial control system for seawater system equipment combined with a system to monitor, collect and report data about electricity use at NELHA; collection of system and solar resource data at NELHA; and updating of the Renewable Energy and Distributed Electric Resources Strategy to increase the use of the Hawaii Gateway Energy Center.
Ex-Red Sox pitcher’s firm lays off all staffers
PROVIDENCE, R.I. » Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling’s faltering Rhode Island video game company laid off its entire staff Thursday.
An email sent by the 38 Studios company to workers says they were notified of the "non-voluntary and non-disciplinary" layoffs.
38 Studios moved from Massachusetts in 2010 after Rhode Island offered a $75 million loan guarantee officials said would bring hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars of tax revenue.
The company was more than two weeks late this month on a $1.1 million payment to the state economic development agency. State officials said the company was not able to make its payroll.
Gov. Lincoln Chafee said the layoffs were an indication of the "grim times" facing the company and the state, which could be responsible for some of 38 Studios’ debt should the company collapse.
The company had 300 employees in Providence, Chafee said. It also has an office in Maryland.
Tiffany’s shrinks outlook as demand slows
NEW YORK » Tiffany & Co., a bellwether of luxury spending, says its sales aren’t rising as fast as last year in the U.S. or abroad, and the gift and jewelry chain cut its forecasts for sales and profit for the year.
Tiffany delivered its lower outlook Thursday as it reported first-quarter profit essentially the same as a year ago and below what analysts were expecting.
It reported net income of $81.5 million, or 64 cents a share, for the quarter that ended April 30, almost the same as its net income of $81.1 million, or 63 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose almost 8 percent to $819.2 million.
The affluent had been spending more since the recession ended in mid-2009, recovering faster than other people.
But late last year Tiffany and other luxury companies saw them apply the brakes amid stock market volatility and growing worry about the debt crisis in Europe.
Sony breaks off joint venture with Sharp
TOKYO » Sony Corp. is ending its joint venture with rival electronics maker Sharp Corp. to produce and sell large liquid-crystal displays for TVs — part of its new strategy to buy panels rather than invest in manufacturing them.
Sony said Thursday it will sell back to the joint venture Sharp Display Products Corp. all 7 percent of the stake it has held since 2009. Sony won’t lose any money as it will receive $126 million, the same as what it paid for shares in the Sharp subsidiary, which produces panels in Sakai city in western Japan.
Tokyo-based Sony, which makes the PlayStation 3 game machine, recently also ended its joint venture with Samsung Electronics Co. to produce flat panels.
ON THE MOVE
Waikiki Ocean Club has appointed Lee Collins president. He has 14 years of experience in the visitor industry, including time as vice president of sales and marketing for Polynesian Adventure Tours-Gray Line Hawaii and as vice president of the USS Missouri Memorial Association.
Bennet Group Strategic Communications has promoted and hired the following:
>> Jill Bona to senior account manager from account manager.
>> Monica Salter to senior account manager from account manager.
>> Crystal Yamasaki to senior account manager from account manager.
>> Elizabeth Cole as account executive; she previously worked for Bridgestone Americas.
>> Nicky Leong as an assistant account executive after previous work as a marketing coordinator for a local Asian international marketing firm.
>> Taryn Nakamura as an account coordinator; she had been a freelance journalist for an electronic publishing company.
>> Noel Nicholas as an account coordinator; she had been an editorial intern and temporary staff member for a major energy corporation in Hawaii.
Brigham Young University Hawaii has hired Eric W. Marler as controller and director of financial services. He has more than 20 years of experience in treasury, finance and operations management in a variety of industries. Marler was previously a chief financial officer for Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu and executive vice president for Hawaii Reserves.
