Another month sees consumer confidence slip
NEW YORK >> Consumer confidence fell in June for the fourth straight month as worries about jobs and the overall economy outweighed relief at the gas pump and an improvement in the housing market, according to a private research group.
The decline was modest. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 62 in June from 64.4 in May. But the four-month slide from 71.6 in February is significant and corresponds with a slowdown in hiring by U.S. companies over the same period.
The index is widely watched because consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity. A reading of 90 indicates a healthy economy. The index hit an all-time low of 25.3 in February 2009.
HECO preps for more HPOWER electricity
An expansion of the city’s HPOWER waste-to-energy plant in Campbell Industrial Park is expected to begin sending electricity into the Hawaiian Electric Co. grid by September, officials announced Tuesday.
The city is adding a third boiler to the plant, which will expand its generating capacity by nearly 60 percent to 73 megawatts from 46 megawatts.
The expansion will allow the plant to increase the amount of garbage it burns to 3,060 tons a day from 2,160 tons a day.
Because of the expansion, HECO is required to update its agreement to buy electricity from the city, a change that is subject to approval by the Public Utilities Commission. HECO and the city have asked the PUC to issue a ruling by Sept. 1.
Under the proposed power purchase agreement, HECO will pay the city from 11 cents to 21 cents a kilowatt-hour for the electricity generated by HPOWER. That includes a capacity payment of 5 cents a kilowatt-hour for electricity produced between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
The HPOWER plant, which went online in 2000, is operated for the city by New Jersey-based Covanta Energy.
EU leaders weigh solutions to debt crisis
BRUSSELS » European leaders are reaching for bold solutions to end a 2-year-old debt crisis that has spread economic misery across Europe, raised doubts about the future of the euro currency, rattled investors and threatened global growth.
Investors have driven up interest rates on Spanish and Italian debt to unsustainable levels, raising the risk those big countries will need a bailout the rest of Europe can’t afford to give them. Unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro is 11 percent, the highest since the euro was adopted in 1999.
A $125 billion plan to bail out Spanish banks has failed to calm financial markets. Even an election that brought a pro-euro-alliance Greek government to power failed to reassure investors that Greece would continue to pay its bills, keep using the euro and avoid a financial crackup that could set off a worldwide panic.
As they meet Thursday and Friday in Brussels, leaders of the 27 countries in the European Union will consider plans to tackle Europe’s government debt problems, fix the region’s banks, stimulate its sluggish economy and help Greece.
Murdoch’s News Corp. might split into 2
LOS ANGELES » Under pressure to limit contagion from the British phone-hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. said Tuesday that it is considering splitting into two publicly traded companies.
The move comes as Britain’s communications regulator, Ofcom, enters the final stages of its review of whether satellite TV firm British Sky Broadcasting — of which News Corp. holds a 39 percent stake — is "fit and proper" to hold a broadcast license.
The separation of News Corp.’s tainted newspaper division from the lucrative TV and movie assets might appease regulators, analysts said.
Shares rose more than 8 percent, hitting their highest level since October 2007.
Financial fraud sting nabs 24 around globe
NEW YORK » Two dozen people on four continents have been arrested in an elaborate sting targeting a black market for online financial fraud, federal officials in New York said Tuesday.
U.S. officials called the crackdown in United States, Europe, Asia and Australia the largest enforcement effort ever against hackers who steal credit card, bank and other information on the Internet — a practice known as "carding."
The officials claimed the two-year FBI sting protected more than 400,000 potential victims and prevented losses of around $205 million.
Major U.S. cities see home prices increase
WASHINGTON » Home prices rose in nearly all major U.S. cities in April from March, further evidence of a housing market that is slowly improving even while the job market slumps.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday showed increases in 19 of the 20 cities tracked. That’s the second straight month that prices have risen in a majority of U.S. cities.
Honolulu is not part of the index.
And a measure of national prices rose 1.3 percent in April from March, the first increase in seven months. The index’s release followed Monday’s Commerce Department report showing new home sales were up 7.6 percent in May from April.
On the Move
The Trust for Public Land has hired Leslie Uptain as director of philanthropy. She will be responsible for steering the nonprofit’s major gifts and fundraising efforts. Uptain was previously director of business development for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Hawaii.
The Alexander & Baldwin Foundation has awarded a $50,000 grant to the Maui Memorial Medical Center Foundation. The gift will support MMMC’s new Heart & Vascular Center.
The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs has appointed Brent Suyama as its communications officer. His experience includes producer and online managing editor for KITV for 18 years.
The New York Life Foundation has donated $10,000 to Kids Hurt Too Hawaii. The grant will be used for a yearlong program that mentors and supports children and families who have experienced the death of a family member.
Hilton Worldwide has named Michael Wilding as general manager of the DoubleTree by Hilton Alana Waikiki. He was previously a resident manager at Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. Wilding started at the flagship property as director of front office operations in 2000 and later was promoted to executive assistant manager.
