Electric Ford topic of lunch gathering

The October Auto Lunch Bunch gathering will ask whether an electric Ford is in attendees’ future.

Speaker Randy Bergsrud, Ford Zone manager, will talk about the electrification of upcoming Ford products.

The Kars at the Kurb display will feature a 2013 Ford Escape SUV from Mike McKenna’s Windward Ford and a 1930 Ford Model A owned by Bill Fortier.

Reservations are required for the noontime Waikiki Yacht Club event, and can be made by phone to Ed Kemper at 225-2965 or via email to billmaloney15@aol.com. The $14.25 cash-only cost includes meal, drink and tip.

Courtesy on road to be rewarded

First Insurance Co. of Hawaii is seeking to bring more courtesy to isle roadways with its "Share Your Thanks" on its "Take the HI Road" Web page (www.ficoh.com/takethehiroad).

For a limited time, people who share such stories will receive a $10 gift card for gasoline and a "Take the HI Road" gift pack, which includes a key chain and other goodies. The promotion ends Oct. 31.

Waikiki farmers market put on hold

The Royal Hawaiian Center Farmers Market has been suspended because of renovations and repairs to the top of Building A, where the event has been staged each Tuesday from 3:30 to 7 p.m.

The last market was on Tuesday. A resumption date has not yet been announced.

New-home sales slipped 0.3% in August

WASHINGTON » Sales of new homes in the United States dipped slightly in August from July, but the median price of homes sold during the month rose by a record amount.

New-home sales edged down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 373,000 in August, a dip of 0.3 percent from July’s revised rate of 374,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That had been the fastest pace since April 2010 when government tax credits were boosting sales.

Sales in August were up 27.7 percent from the pace a year ago. But even with that gain, new-home sales remain well below the annual pace of 700,000 that economists consider healthy.

American Air workers opt for buyouts

FORT WORTH, Texas » Thousands of American Airlines workers have decided it’s time to hang up the tool belt and stop loading bags on to airplanes, and the voluntary departures will mean far fewer layoffs than the carrier had originally anticipated.

The Fort Worth-based carrier said 2,835 mechanics, store clerks and fleet service workers applied for an early-out program that includes severance payments starting at $12,500, depending on the worker’s seniority and time at the company. Those work groups are represented by the Transport Workers Union.

In February, American said it expected to cut 8,500 TWU jobs.

RadioShack CEO Gooch steps down

FORT WORTH, Texas » RadioShack said Wednesday that its CEO is leaving under an agreement with the board, the latest blow for the struggling electronics retailer.

RadioShack said James Gooch will step down immediately and is leaving its board of directors. Chief Financial Officer Dorvin Lively will serve as its interim CEO while it looks for a permanent replacement, the company said.

RadioShack has faced declining net income in the past two years. The chain’s troubles are partly due to wider problems in the brick-and-mortar electronics industry and add fuel to the notion that selling consumer electronics in brick-and-mortar stores is becoming less viable.

But RadioShack has also had company-specific problems. In its latest quarter, the company reported an unexpected $21 million loss as its shift toward selling smartphones and their accessories was not enough to offset a decline in demand in other consumer electronics.

TV is latest item on McDonald’s menu

LOS ANGELES » The question of the moment at 700 pioneering McDonald’s restaurants: You want TV with those fries?

Not just any television, but the custom-made M Channel, formulated and tested with the same attention to detail that made Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets cultural icons.

The channel’s aim is to offer exclusive content to entertain customers. More ambitiously, it also intends to create promotional and sales opportunities for record companies and others who want to dive into McDonald’s vast customer pool.

American Greetings gets offer to go private

CLEVELAND » American Greetings Corp. said Wednesday that a group led by its CEO and chief operating officer wants to buy the company and take it private in a deal that values it at about $581 million.

American Greetings, whose brands also include Carlton Cards, Recycled Paper Greetings and Papyrus, said its board received the proposal from Chief Executive Zev Weiss and his brother, President and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Weiss, on Tuesday.

Fewer U.S. CEOs planning to expand, hire

WASHINGTON » A survey of U.S. chief executives shows a sharp drop in the number of large companies that plan to add jobs or hire more workers.

The Business Roundtable said Wednesday that only 29 percent of its member CEOs plan to increase hiring over the next six months. That’s down from 36 percent in June, when the group last released its quarterly survey. It’s also much lower than the 52 percent of CEOs in early 2011 who said they planned to boost hiring, the highest percentage since the survey began in 2002.

ON THE MOVE

The Hawaii Government Employees Association has named Dee Okahara as its communications officer. She has 12 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and more than seven years in the communications and development fields.

Honolulu Waldorf School has announced Chris Hochuli as president of the school’s board of trustees. He is currently a senior vice president for Merrill Lynch, Wealth Management, in Honolulu.

Kamehameha Schools has announced the appointment of Elizabeth Hokada as the school’s president of endowment. She was previously an interim vice president of endowment as well as Kamehameha’s director of financial assets division.