BRIEFLY

Shuttle offers service for 4 Waikiki resorts

A Starwood Waikiki Shuttle has begun offering airport transportation to hotel guests staying at the company’s four Waikiki resorts.

Roberts of Hawaii will service the shuttle, which will run back and forth between Hono­lulu Airport and the Sheraton Waikiki, Royal Hawaiian, Moana Surfrider and Sheraton Princess Kaiu­lani.

The cost for a ride on the air-conditioned, 21-passenger shuttle is $20 per person round trip or $12 per person one way. The service includes a lei greeting, curb-to-curb baggage handling, and access to hotel information and discount coupons for shops, restaurants and spas.

"The Starwood Waikiki Shuttle is the first of its kind in Waikiki and will be available as a reasonably priced and reliable transportation option to the over 8,000 guests we service on a daily basis at our four resorts in Waikiki," said Keith Vieira, senior vice president and director of operations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Hawaii and French Polynesia.

For more information or to make reservations, visit www.only­in­wai­kiki.com or call the Starwood Tour & Activity Desk at 931-8007.

Quiksilver stock price gains 12 percent

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. » The share price of Quiksilver Inc., the maker of clothing for skateboarders and surfers, climbed the most in almost six months after avoiding a wipeout in its European sales.

Quiksilver, based in Huntington Beach, Calif., rose 12 percent to $2.74 at the close in New York trading, the biggest gain since Dec. 16. Volume of 2.39 million shares was almost double the three-month average.

Quiksilver is "quite proud" that its European unit posted second-quarter revenue growth in constant currency while rivals reported declines, Chief Financial Officer Richard Shields said Thursday on a conference call with analysts. The shares, which reached $4.74 in February, had declined as economic turmoil mounted in Europe, Andrew Burns, an analyst with D.A. Davidson & Co., said in an email.

2 Chesapeake Energy directors voted out

OKLAHOMA CITY » Chesapeake Energy Corp. shareholders rebuked the company’s board by withholding support for two directors up for re-election at Friday’s annual meeting. Both directors have tendered their resignation.

Shareholders also withheld their support for Chesapeake’s executive compensation plan and peppered CEO Aubrey McClendon with questions about the corporate governance and accountability of the nation’s second-largest producer of natural gas.

Shares of the Oklahoma City-based company are worth nearly 40 percent less than a year ago. And Chesapeake still has big spending plans even though it’s taking in less cash because of a plunge in natural gas prices.

U.S. trade deficit narrows to $50.1 billion

WASHINGTON » The U.S. trade deficit shrank in April, but only because a big drop in imports more than offset the first decline in U.S. exports in five months.

The Commerce Department said Friday that the trade deficit narrowed 4.9 percent in April to $50.1 billion.

U.S. exports, which had hit a rec­ord the previous month, fell 0.8 percent to $182.9 billion. Sales of everything from commercial jetliners to industrial machinery declined.

Imports, which also set a rec­ord in March, dropped an even faster 1.7 percent to $233 billion.

American wholesalers add to stockpiles

WASHINGTON » U.S. wholesale businesses restocked faster in April, responding to a strong gain in sales. The increase could be a good sign for economic growth in the April-June quarter.

The Commerce Department says stockpiles grew 0.6 percent at the wholesale level in April, double the March gain. Sales by wholesale businesses jumped 1.1 percent in April, nearly three times the March sales gain.

Stockpiles at the wholesale level stood at $483.5 billion in April. That’s 25.6 percent above the post-recession low of $384.9 billion in September 2009.

McDonald’s reports increased revenue

NEW YORK » McDonald’s Corp. says strength in the U.S. and Europe drove up a key revenue figure in May, but the company warned that economic volatility around the world and rising expenses are pressuring its second-quarter results.

The fast-food chain, based in Oak Brook, Ill., also said that foreign currency translations are now expected to hurt its second-quarter earnings by 7 to 9 cents per share.

For May the company says global sales at restaurants open at least 13 months rose 3.3 percent. That is a key metric because it excludes the volatility from those that recently opened or closed.

Cars avoid crashes by talking to each other

WASHINGTON » As a safety demonstration, it was a heart-stopper: A Ford Taurus was seconds away from cruising through an intersection when a warning blared that another car was approaching fast on the cross street. Braking quickly, the driver stopped just as the second car barreled through a red light and across the Ford’s path. The display at a transportation conference was a peek into the future of automotive safety: cars that talk to each other and warn drivers of impending collisions. Later this summer the government is launching a yearlong, real-world test involving nearly 3,000 cars, trucks and buses using volunteer drivers in Ann Arbor, Mich.

ON THE MOVE

» Aqua Hotels and Resorts has announced management hires and a promotion within the operations group:

— Jeff Caminos as director of Aqua Hotels and Resorts. He has more than 30 years of Hawaii hospitality experience and was previously a vice president of operations with Castle Resorts and Hotels.

— Lyn Aoki as corporate director of guest services and brand standards. She was previously a special-proj­ects manager with Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

— Dennis Hall as manager of information technology from systems administrator. Prior to returning to Hawaii, he was a network specialist with Affordable Home Furnishings in Louisiana.

» Gov. Neil Abercrombie has appointed Melinda Montgomery to the Hawaii Juvenile Justice State Advisory Council. She has seven years of experience working as a program coordinator at Hale Kipa.

SHIP AHOY!

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