Symphony Honolulu tower gets go-ahead

The Hawaii Community Development Authority granted a development permit Wednesday for the $380 million Symphony Honolulu luxury condominium tower in Kakaako.

The approval was not contentious, but followed a controversial variance granted in May that allows the 400-foot tower to be aligned with its broad side along an Ewa-Diamond Head axis in divergence from an agency rule intended to preserve mauka-makai views.

Project developer OliverMcMillan and landowner JN Automotive anticipate selling units later this year.

JPMorgan had insufficient risk controls

WASHINGTON » JPMorgan Chase had weak controls in place to contain risk in its investment division that suffered a $2 billion-plus trading loss, a key federal regulator said Wednesday.

U.S. Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry told the Senate Banking Committee that the nation’s largest bank began reducing the amount of hedging it was doing to minimize potential losses at the end of 2011. Curry’s agency is examining JPMorgan’s risk-containment policies in the weeks before it suffered the trading loss.

A Federal Reserve official told the Senate panel that a draft rule that seeks to prevent banks from trading for their own profit might have flagged JPMorgan’s risks earlier.

Fed survey finds U.S growth mostly steady

WASHINGTON » The U.S. economy grew moderately in most regions of the country during spring and companies kept hiring, according to a Federal Reserve survey released Wednesday

The mostly upbeat survey offered hopeful signs after last week’s more dismal data on hiring and manufacturing. Those reports sketched a picture of an economy that is slumping after a promising winter.

The positive survey, which is anecdotal, also makes it less likely that Fed policymakers will take further action in the coming months to lift the economy. The survey doesn’t suggest the economy is in dire need of help, many economists said.

Facebook investors to get $40 million

NEW YORK » The Nasdaq stock exchange said Wednesday that it plans to hand out $40 million in cash and credit to reimburse investment firms that got ensnared by technical problems while trading Facebook stock.

FINRA, the financial industry’s self-regulatory group, will review claims for compensation.

Facebook went public May 18 amid great fanfare. But computer glitches at the Nasdaq plagued the day. They delayed the opening of trading by half an hour and kept some investors from buying shares in the morning, selling them later in the day, or even from knowing whether their orders went through. Some investors complained that the technical problems left them holding shares that they didn’t want.

Nasdaq will pay about $14 million in cash to investment companies that file valid claims. The rest will be given as credit for the costs that firms have to pay to trade on the Nasdaq.

LinkedIn passwords stolen, leaked online

LONDON » Business social network LinkedIn said Wednesday that some of its users’ passwords have been stolen and leaked onto the Internet.

LinkedIn Corp. did not say how many of the more than 6 million passwords that were distributed online corresponded to LinkedIn accounts. In a blog post Wednesday, the company said it was continuing to investigate.

Graham Cluley, a consultant with U.K. Web security company Sophos, recommended that LinkedIn users change their passwords immediately.

LinkedIn has a lot of information on its more than 160 million members, including potentially confidential information related to jobs being sought. Companies, recruiting services and others have accounts alongside individuals who post resumes and other professional information.

Australia’s economy skyrockets 4.3%

CANBERRA, Australia » Australia’s economy rocketed to 4.3 percent growth for the year through March, its fastest expansion since the global financial crisis as Chinese demand for iron ore and other commodities masked difficulties outside the mining industry.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday that the economy grew 1.3 percent in the January-March quarter from the previous quarter, which was double what economists had expected. A major driver was a 19.7 percent surge in engineering construction, mainly in mining. Planned investment in the resources sector reached 500 billion Australian dollars ($500 billion).

ON THE MOVE

New York Life Insurance Company has hired the following agents:

» Hapaki Franco was previously an agent with Dennis Kim & Associates for three years.

» Mary Garriss‘ experience includes working as a fundraiser and event coordinator for a local nonprofit organization.

» Garrett Nouchi was previously a sales representative at Beverages and More.

ABM Facility Services has announced Ray Marquina as its engineering district manager. He has more than 13 years of engineering and property management experience.

William C.W. Li has joined the downtown Honolulu practice of Healthy Hawaiian Smiles. Li is a general dentist who previously worked at various dental offices.