Star-Advertiser’s Consillio gets fellowship

Star-Advertiser reporter Kristen Consillio is one of 17 business journalists from 11 states and the District of Columbia to be chosen as fellows for a two-day education program on the business of health care.

The event, which begins today at Reuters headquarters in New York City, is conducted by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers Inc. and sponsored by The Commonwealth Fund Inc.

Sherry Glied, one of the nation’s experts on health care reform, is the opening speaker. Glied is a leading scholar on health policy reform, having served as assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President Barack Obama from 2010 to 2012.

Deadline extended for entrepreneurs

Blue Startups LLC has extended the application deadline for its first group of startup companies to Jan. 31.

Blue Startups, established by Blue Planet Software founder Henk Rogers, is recruiting capital-efficient companies involved in scalable technologies relating to the Internet, software, mobile, gaming and e-commerce, as well as companies focused on Asia. Additional details can be found online at www. bluestartups.com.

2 lenders to pay $557M in mortgage case

WASHINGTON » Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will pay a combined $557 million to settle federal complaints that they wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners who should have been allowed to stay in their homes.

The agreements announced Wednesday with the Federal Reserve are similar to deals the Fed struck earlier this month with 10 other major banks and mortgage lenders. Combined, the 12 firms will pay more than $9 billion.

Goldman will pay $330 million. Morgan Stanley is paying $227 million.

Consumer prices unchanged in December

WASHINGTON » Lower gas costs offset more expensive food and higher rents to keep a measure of U.S. consumer prices flat last month.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that food prices increased 0.2 percent in December from November. Rents and airline fares also rose. Gasoline prices fell a seasonally adjusted 2.3 percent.

Economy picked up at year-end, Fed says

WASHINGTON » Holiday shopping, strong auto sales and a recovering housing market helped boost the U.S. economy from the middle of November through early January, according to a Federal Reserve survey released Wednesday.

The Fed said 12 of its regional banking districts reported "modest or moderate" growth in the final weeks of 2012. Of those, only St. Louis said growth had slowed from the previous survey, which covered October through early November.

Consumers increased spending at the end of the year in every district. Auto sales were steady or stronger in 10 districts. Nearly all of the districts reported increases in home construction and home sales.

AMR cuts labor costs, posts $262M profit

DALLAS » American Airlines made a profit in the fourth quarter, a big turnaround from a year ago, as it slashed labor costs and reaped other benefits from its trip to bankruptcy court. Parent company AMR Corp. said Wednesday that net income was $262 million compared with a loss of $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Labor was AMR’s second-biggest expense behind fuel. The company chopped spending on wages and benefits by 13 percent as it eliminated thousands of jobs and reworked its union contracts to cut costs.

Revamped Wendy’s boosts earnings

DUBLIN, Ohio » Wendy’s new value menu and focus on premium burgers helped its fiscal fourth-quarter net income top Wall Street expectations, the hamburger chain said today.

Wendy’s net income jumped to $22.4 million, or 6 cents a share, for the three months ended Dec. 30. That’s up sharply from $4 million, or 1 cent per share, a year earlier. The current quarter’s results included a tax benefit, lower interest expense and a sharp rise in investment income.

Revenue rose 2 percent to $629.9 million from $615 million.

ON THE MOVE

Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has announced that Daniel Ihara and Julie Ihara have joined its Kahala office. Before joining the company, the husband-and-wife team served as Realtor associates at Prudential Advantage Realty. Dan’s experience includes serving as a vice president of marketing for a global manufacturing company. Julie spent 18 years in the banking industry, including as vice president of direct marketing and promotions at Central Pacific Bank.

The North Hawaii Community Hospital board of directors has announced the appointment of Lowell W. Johnson as chief executive officer. He was previously serving as interim president and chief executive officer at California’s Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System.