St. Francis to hold HMC-East garage sale

St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii is having a second garage sale at the now-shuttered Hawaii Medical Center-East in Li­liha.

The sale follows another held at the defunct HMC-West in Ewa, which generated more than $33,000 on July 21. Proceeds from that garage sale will go toward services for West Oahu residents, St. Francis said in a press release Friday.

The garage sale at 2230 Li­liha St. will be Aug. 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and offer more than 5,000 discounted items, including lockers, chairs, tables, desks, file cabinets, bookshelves, microwave ovens and refrigerators.

Parking at the Liliha campus is free for the cash-only sale. Proceeds will benefit St. Francis’ services and programs.

HMC-West closed in December and HMC-East in January. The hospitals were returned to St. Francis in May.

The Roman Catholic religious order is seeking 100 volunteers to help with the event. The deadline to sign up is Wednesday. For more information, call 547-8134 or email PMartin@stfrancishawaii.org.

Ex-baseball star settles insider trading case

On the standout Baltimore Orioles baseball teams of the late 1970s, Eddie Murray, the Hall of Fame first baseman, shared the infield with the all-star third baseman Doug DeCinces.

Federal regulators say that decades later the two close friends shared something else: illegal stock tips.

Murray was charged Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission with insider trading ahead of a merger announcement after receiving advanced word of the deal from DeCinces. The SEC said DeCinces had received the tip from James V. Mazzo, former chairman and chief executive of Advanced Medical Optics, an eye care company that Abbott Laboratories acquired for nearly $3 billion in 2009.

Murray, 56, made about $235,000 in illegal gains by buying shares of Advanced Medical Optics ahead of the deal and then selling his stake after it was announced, the SEC said. Without admitting or denying guilt, Murray agreed to settle the case by paying $358,000 in disgorged profits and penalties.

Apple stock hits new high after 4-month dip

NEW YORK >> Apple’s stock hit a new high Friday after a four-month swoon, as investors looked ahead to the release of a new iPhone and possibly a smaller iPad.

Already the world’s most valuable company, Apple Inc. saw its stock hit $648.19 just before closing, before retreating to $648.11. That was up $11.77, or 1.9 percent, from Thursday’s close.

The previous high for the stock was $644, hit April 10.

Facebook falls to half of its IPO price

NEW YORK >> Facebook’s stock fell to $19 for the first time Friday, meaning it has lost half its market value since the company’s initial public offering in May.

It hit that intraday milestone on Friday, a day after the expiration of a lock-up period. The lock-up’s end has provided some early investors and insiders with an opportunity to sell shares.

Investors have been concerned about Facebook’s ability to increase revenue and make money from its growing mobile audience. Many analysts, however, hold positive opinions of the company’s long-term prospects.

Facebook’s stock closed down 82 cents at $19.05.

Measure of American economy rises 0.4%

WASHINGTON >> A measure of future U.S. economic activity recovered in July following a sharp drop in June, providing further evidence of an economy that is regaining some momentum. The Conference Board said Friday that its index of leading economic indicators increased 0.4 percent in July after falling 0.4 percent in June.

The July strength came from an improvement in a number of components, with the largest contributions coming from a big jump in applications for housing permits and declines in applications for unemployment benefits.

American tries again to cancel pilots’ pact

DALLAS >> American Airlines is going back to court to throw out its contract with union pilots after making changes to satisfy the bankruptcy judge. If it wins in court, American could cut annual spending on pilots by more than $300 million and do more revenue-sharing deals with other airlines.

American parent AMR Corp. filed a motion in U.S. bankruptcy court in New York on Friday, two days after a judge denied American’s first attempt to cancel the pilots’ contract. The judge rejected the company’s demand for unlimited power to furlough pilots and make so-called code-sharing deals.

Unemployment rates up in 44 states in July

WASHINGTON » Unemployment rates rose in 44 states in July, the most states to show a monthly increase in more than three years and a reflection of weak hiring nationwide.

The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates fell in only two states and were unchanged in four, including Hawaii. Unemployment rates rose in nine states that are considered battlegrounds in the presidential election.

In Nevada, the rate rose to 12 percent in July from 11.6 percent the previous month. That’s the highest rate in the nation, though it’s still much lower than a year ago, when it was 13.8 percent.

ON THE MOVE

Anthology Marketing Group has hired:

» Lauren Ruiz as account executive in Anthology’s advertising division, Laird Christianson. She will work with the creative and media planning departments to prepare and execute advertising strategies that align with clients’ objectives.

» Amber Macpherson as digital marketing assistant in Anthology Digital. She will be responsible for billing and reconciliation, campaign reporting analysis, research, preparing presentations and supporting digital media campaign management tasks.

Queen Liliuokalani Trust has announced Laura Dierenfield as manager in the endowment group at its Kailua-Kona office. She was previously executive director of PATH (Peoples Advocacy for Trails Hawaii) in Kailua-Kona. Before PATH, Dierenfield served as a health education leader at Tutu’s House, where she focused on healthy-eating and active-living programs in North Hawaii.

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