Hawaii News Now changes anchors

Hawaii News Now Sports Director Chris Tanaka will relinquish the post when he succeeds Shawn Ching as co-anchor with Stephanie Lum weekdays at 5 and 5:30 p.m., the station has announced.

Ching’s departure, to allow him focus full time on his law career, was announced in April. At the time it was said his last day on the air would be May 22, the end of the Nielsen ratings period, but now his last day will be May 24, said News Director Mark Platte.

In his new role, Tanaka also will report and shoot video for stories, Platte said.

The station has not yet named a successor for the sports director position.

Hawaiian Airlines tops U.S. in punctuality

Hawaiian Airlines once again led U.S. carriers for punctuality as 91 percent of its flights arrived on schedule in March. The industry average was 79.8 percent.

The perennial on-time performance leader also led the industry in fewest flight cancellations with six out of 6,000 flights, or a cancellation rate of 0.1 percent, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation in its monthly Air Travel Consumer Report.

Hawaiian was sixth out of 16 carriers for fewest reports off mishandled baggage with 1,832 out of 799,742 passengers, or 2.29 per 1,000 passengers; and ninth for fewest consumer complaints with six, or 0.70 per 100,000 passengers.

In the quarterly denied boarding category, Hawaiian was third with 51 passengers involuntarily denied boarding, or 0.21 out of 10,000 passengers.

Japan economy rose at 3.5% rate in quarter

Japan’s economy expanded more than analysts estimated in the first quarter as consumer spending and exports climbed. Gross domestic product rose an annualized 3.5 percent in the three months through March, the most in a year, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday. The median of 36 economist forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey was 2.7 percent. In the fourth quarter, growth was a revised 1.0 percent, the data showed.

Japan’s economy is showing signs of making a comeback as central bank governor Haruhiko Kuroda rolls out unprecedented monetary easing. Officials are seeking to contain volatility in the bond market as investors assess the likelihood of Kuroda fueling inflation.

Wells Fargo loses appeal in overdraft case

NEW YORK » A federal judge in California has again ordered Wells Fargo to pay $203 million to customers who paid multiple overdraft fees.

In a decision handed down Wednesday, U.S. District Judge William Alsup reinstated a ruling first made in August 2010 that the San Francisco company had appealed. While some parts of the original ruling were overturned, others were affirmed.

In his original ruling, Alsup had accused Wells Fargo of "profiteering" by changing its policies to process checks, debit card transactions and bill payments from the highest dollar amount to the lowest, rather than in the order that the transactions took place. That helped drain customer bank accounts faster and drive up overdraft fees.

Richele Messick, a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo & Co., said the lender was "disappointed," with the judge’s ruling.

"We don’t believe that the ruling is in line with facts of this case or the law, and we plan to appeal," Messick said.

Southwest to save by slowing plane delivery

DALLAS » Southwest Airlines Co. is delaying delivery of new airplanes and filling the gap with used planes to reduce spending through the next five years. It’s also raising its dividend to 4 cents a share from a penny a share, and could soon buy back more of its own shares.

Southwest said Wednesday it will delay 30 firm orders for Boeing 737 jets, which CEO Gary Kelly said would cut capital spending through 2018 by more than $500 million. The airline is also giving up or delaying options for additional planes.

Meanwhile, Southwest will buy 10 used 737s from Canada’s WestJet in the next two years. They average about 11 or 12 years old and should tide over Southwest until Boeing begins producing a new, more fuel-efficient 737 model called the Max late in this decade, Southwest said.

ON THE MOVE

Central Pacific Bank has appointed Louis Chun to assistant vice president and Kailua branch manager. He was previously a general manager for Hawaii Nut and Bolt and an assistant vice president and Kailua branch manager for Hawaii National Bank. 

The state Department of Health, with assistance from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, is awarding six nonprofit community groups grant funds to address Japanese tsunami marine debris and keep Hawaii’s shorelines clean. Receiving grants areSurfrider Kauai, $25,000 (for Kauai County); Hawaii Wildlife Fund, $20,000 (for Maui County); Recycle Hawaii, $20,000 (for Hawaii County); Surfrider Oahu, $13,000 (for Honolulu County); Kupu, $11,000 (for Honolulu County); and Sustainable Coastlines, $11,000 (for Honolulu County).

The YWCA of Oahu is honoring four women as its 2013 distinguished honorees at its annual LeaderLuncheon, "Shine," on June 19 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. Honored will be Dee Jay Mailer, chief executive officer at Kamehameha Schools; Paula Rath, artist, fashion and lifestyle writer; Lorenn Walker, public health educator and restorative lawyer; and Sylvia Yuen, special assistant to the president for food safety and security at the University of Hawaii.