Rate on 30-year mortgages rises to 3.59 percent

WASHINGTON >> Average rates on fixed mortgages rose for the third straight week, hitting their highest levels since mid-March.

Still, mortgage rates remained close to historic lows, a trend that should help sustain the housing recovery.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for the 30-year loan increased to 3.59 percent this week. That’s up from 3.51 percent last week, and it is above the rate of 3.31 percent reached in November, the lowest on records dating to 1971.

The average on the 15-year loan jumped to 2.77 percent. That’s up from 2.69 percent last week. The record low of 2.56 percent was hit May 2.

Cheaper mortgages are a key reason home sales have increased this year.

A&B Properties buys Napili Plaza on Maui

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. real estate subsidiary A&B Properties Inc. has completed the acquisition of Napili Plaza, a 46,000-square-foot retail center in West Maui, for $19 million.

The company said Thursday the purchase represents the reinvestment of $15 million from the January sale of the Northpoint Industrial facility in Fullerton, Calif., and non-income-producing land in Hawaii. The remainder of the purchase price will be financed with sale proceeds from the future sale of mainland assets, it said in a statement.

Napili Plaza is on Honoapiilani Highway between resorts at Kapalua and Kaanapali, and is anchored by Napili Market. The 92 percent-occupied center includes a mix of long-term tenants that cater to both visitors and local residents, the company said.

Isle IT consultant teams with mobile app firm

Pacific Point, a Honolulu-based business and IT consulting provider, and Philadelphia-based Mobility Effect, a company focused on building enterprise mobile applications, have joined to form a full-service, enterprise-focused mobility solution provider in Hawaii.

Together, Pacific Point and Mobility Effect are able to take complex enterprise mobile application projects from concept to reality while providing a local presence for the businesses of Hawaii.

Big Kauai solar project clears hurdles

The state’s largest solar energy facility planned for Kauai would have no significant environmental or cultural impacts, according to a environmental assessment for the project released Thursday.

The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative plans to break ground in the third quarter of this year on the 12-megawatt project, which would occupy 60 acres in Anahola owned by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. The utility said it intends to seek financing from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service for the $55 million project.

The 588-page environmental assessment was prepared for the KIUC by Honolulu-based planning company Planning Solutions. The report noted that the project site has been "significantly altered" from its original condition as the result of sugar cane cultivation.

State ranks low for competitiveness

Hawaii ranks among the bottom 10 states in economic competitiveness for the sixth year in a row in a study that measures the impact of state policies on 15 areas, from personal income and corporate tax rates to the costs of workers’ compensation.

Hawaii improved to 40th place in 2013 from 46th place in 2012 in the ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index. The study is published by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonprofit whose members include fossil-fuel companies and mostly Republican state legislators.

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, a public policy think tank, released the report to Hawaii policymakers and businesses.

"While the 2013 study does show that Hawaii has improved in its overall rank from 46th to 40th in terms of economic outlook for the future, a careful examination of what is included in the study, as well as what is not, should caution any optimism," said Kelii Akina, president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.

Sears posts bigger-than-expected loss

NEW YORK » It was another ugly quarter for Sears Holdings Corp. as the beleaguered department store chain reported a steeper-than-expected loss for its first quarter on slumping sales. It also announced that it was considering selling its protection agreement business in an ongoing effort to raise cash as it struggles to reverse its fortunes. The unit runs the part of the business that sells customers service contracts that guarantee to fix or replace appliances if they break within a certain time frame.

For the quarter, Sears said it lost $279 million, or $2.63 a share, compared with a profit of $189 million, or $1.78 a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 9 percent to $8.45 billion.

On the Move

Proservice Hawaii has hired Sarah Guay as talent development manager. Prior to joining the company, Guay was an employability training manager at Management Training Corp.

Bank of Hawaii has promoted: 

>> Reid Hinaga to vice president from assistant vice president.

>> Davin Nakasato to vice president and Waialae-Kahala assistant banking center manager from assistant vice president.

>> Chantell Smeis­ser to vice president and Kapolei banking center manager from assistant vice president.

Finance Factors has promoted: 

>> Benson Choo to senior vice president and information systems and technology manager.

>> Eileen Chun to vice president and residential underwriting department manager.

>> Romeo Anacan to vice president and business development manager.

>> Debra Bringman to assistant vice president and human resources manager.

>> April Lee to assistant vice president and associate general counsel and lending compliance officer.