‘Last Resort’ viewers increase 3 percent
ABC’s Hawaii-based drama "Last Resort" registered gains in overall viewers and in its key target audience Thursday night, according to Nielsen ratings information released by the network.
"Last Resort" drew 7.1 million viewers, a 3 percent gain over the previous week, ABC said.
Among adults 18-49 the show also registered a 6 percent gain from the previous week. "Last Resort" drew 1.7 percent of the total viewing audience and 5 percent of those watching TV at the time.
First Hawaiian raises 6-month CD for online
First Hawaiian Bank has boosted its six-month certificate of deposit tenfold to 0.50 percent in conjuction with a new product it began offering Monday that makes it the first Hawaii-based bank to allow customers to open CD accounts online.
The state’s largest bank, whose walk-in rate remains at 0.05 percent, said the online program could attract customers from across the nation. To open an eCD account online, the person must be a U.S. citizen, 18 or older and reside in the U.S., Guam or Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Funding the new online account with a minimum of $500 can be done through electronic transfer or by mailing in a check.
Six-month CDs offered by the other banks in Hawaii have rates varying from 0.05 percent to 0.25 percent.
Liquefied-gas plan draws opposition
The Blue Planet Foundation and the national office of the Sierra Club are opposing a plan by Hawaii Gas to begin shipping liquefied natural gas to Hawaii.
Among the concerns expressed by the two groups in documents filed Friday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is that bringing in liquefied natural gas runs contrary to the state’s push to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel.
Hawaii Gas is seeking regulatory approval from FERC to ship liquefied natural gas to Hawaii. The two groups filed motions with FERC to intervene in the case, which would allow them have more influence in the process than if they were simply observers.
Hawaii Gas officials have said the state could benefit from bringing in liquefied natural gas, which is priced significantly below the oil that Hawaii relies on to satisfy the bulk of its energy needs.
Blue Planet said in its filing, among other things, that Hawaii Gas’ application is "deficient insofar as it seeks commission approval of a comprehensive LNG plan yet does not discuss all aspects of that plan in sufficient detail to allow the commission to approve such a plan at this time."
Lunch talk addresses UH research goals
A luncheon panel program focused on whether the University of Hawaii is meeting its research goals will be held Thursday by the Hawaii Venture Capital Association and ThinkTech.
Among the speakers will be UH-Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple, Michele Carbone of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, Peter Crouch of the School of Engineering, Jerris Hedges of the John A. Burns School of Medicine and Rick Rocheleau of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute.
The program will cover significant research projects being conducted at the university, the university structure within which those projects are being conducted, and whether those projects and that structure are meeting the expectations and requirements of the university and the tech industry in Hawaii.
The event is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Plaza Club. To register go to www.hvca.org.
GE profit rises but revenue disappoints
NEW YORK » General Electric Co.’s transformation into a simpler industrial company seems to be helping its bottom line.
The top line, though, is lagging slightly.
GE’s net income rose 49 percent in the third quarter to $3.49 billion, or 33 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, GE earned 36 cents per share, in line with analysts’ expectations and up 13 percent from a year earlier.
Revenue rose $1 billion, or 3 percent, to $36.35 billion. Analysts were looking for revenue of $36.95 billion, and GE shares fell more than 3 percent, part of a broad market decline.
Stronger dollar hurts McDonald’s earnings
NEW YORK » Tough competition in the U.S. and the weakening economy abroad was a double whammy for McDonald’s in the third quarter, sending the burger chain’s net income down nearly 4 percent to $1.46 billion. Revenue was nearly flat at $7.15 billion from $7.17 billion last year.
McDonald’s said it was adjusting some of its plans to deal with the pressures, including stepping up advertising for its dollar menu and bringing back the popular McRib sandwich nationally in December to drive traffic into U.S. stores.
The world’s largest hamburger chain with 33,000 locations worldwide has thrived in boom and bust times by selling cheap eats and constantly updating its menu. But global economic pressures and intensifying competition are wearing at the company, which does two-thirds of its business overseas.
Banana Boat recalls sunscreen due to fire risk
WASHINGTON >> The maker of Banana Boat sunscreen is recalling a half-million bottles of spray-on lotion after reports that a handful of people have caught on fire after applying the product and coming in contact with open flames.
Energizer Holdings Inc., based in St. Louis, said Friday that it is pulling 23 varieties of UltraMist sunscreen off store shelves due to the risk of the lotion igniting when exposed to fire. The recall includes aerosol products like UltraMist Sport, UltraMist Ultra Defense and UltraMist Kids.
The company said there have been five reports of people suffering burns after using the sunscreen in the last year.
ON THE MOVE
UHA, University Health Alliance, has promoted the following employees:
» Kimberly Soares to business development manager. She has been with the company for 10 years in several positions, including billing clerk, account representative and account executive.
» Laurie Tabadero to sales administration manager. She has been with UHA for 11 years and has been a sales administrative assistant and administrative supervisor.
RIM Architects has announced Michael Saito as senior project manager. He has 25 years of project architect and manager experience and was previously working for ORB Architects.
