All Nippon to resume Boeing 787 flights
TOKYO >> Japan’s All Nippon Airways, the launch customer for Boeing’s 787 “Dreamliner,” will resume commercial flights of the aircraft Sunday, just over four months after the jets were grounded due to smoldering batteries.
ANA said it will run five commercial 787 flights in May, before regular, scheduled services begin June 1. The first commercial flight will be Sunday from Chitose, on the island of Hokkaido, to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Smoldering batteries on two 787s, one of them owned by ANA, prompted authorities to ground the planes in January. ANA said it has modified all 17 of its 787 aircraft and held 170 proving flights.
Walmart to sell frozen Fatburger patties
NEW YORK » Fatburger, a chain with a devoted following on the West Coast, said Friday it will sell its branded frozen beef patties in Walmart stores nationwide.
The Beverly Hills, Calif.-based chain said the beef patties are in select stores now and will roll out nationally over the next several weeks.
Fatburger will make its Hawaii debut June 17 at all Walmart stores on Oahu and Hawaii island but will not be carried on Maui or Kauai.
The patties will be sold in packs of six for $9.58.
Fatburger, founded in 1952, has about 150 locations globally; half of those are in the U.S., primarily on the West Coast. The chain is owned by Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark., has more than 4,000 U.S. locations but said the Fatburger patties will be available in 3,100 stores.
A Walmart representative did not immediately know why the remainder of the stores wouldn’t carry the items.
Andy Wiederhorn, CEO of Fatburger, said the patties have a higher fat content of about 30 percent since they’re intended for barbecuing.
The burgers sold in restaurants have a fat content of about 20 percent, he said. A Fatburger burger with cheese in restaurants costs about $5.50.
Walmart will use its own suppliers to create the patties; Fatburger is licensing its name and recipe, which Wiederhorn said includes a particular type of seasoning and grinds of beef.
Hawai‘i Nui Brewing sale postponed
Consideration of bids to acquire Hawai‘i Nui Brewing LLC out of bankruptcy was postponed Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
A new hearing on the matter was scheduled for May 31.
Hilo-based Hawai‘i Nui, which produces Mehana and Hawai‘i Nui brand beers, filed for bankruptcy last month.
Aloha Beer Co., led by James H.Q. Lee, has offered to buy the company for up to $325,000.
A rival bid also exists from a partnership between Dustin Shindo, who founded Mehana, and local businessman Duane Kurisu.
Japan defends policies as markets settle
TOKYO » Japan’s top leaders are defending the economic strategies championed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, though the central bank chief acknowledged a need for better communication with financial markets, a day after Tokyo shares suffered their worst loss since the 2011 tsunami disaster.
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda acknowledged Friday the need for careful handling of aggressive monetary policies aimed at breaking the world’s third-largest economy free of deflation, or falling prices, that has hobbled growth by slowing investment and consumer spending.
"We are undertaking very flexible market operations, and interest rate volatility should be curbed as much as possible," Kuroda told a regional conference in Tokyo, a day after 10-year government bond yields breached 1 percent for the first time in a year.
By Friday afternoon they were at about 0.83 percent, near their recent trading level.
On Thursday, dismal manufacturing data from China coupled with the concerns about Abenomics triggered a sell-off in Tokyo, where the Nikkei 225 fell 7.3 percent, as investors cashed in on recent gains. Shares gyrated Friday, first rising, then falling and then rebounding to close 0.9 percent higher, at 14,612.45.
On the Move
Prince Resorts Hawaii has promoted:
>> Darla Won to director of marketing. She has 16 years of experience at Prince Resorts Hawaii, including serving as director of promotions, media and brand development.
>> Rona Young to marketing manager. She was previously a manager of Loyalty Programs at Prince Resorts Hawaii.
Mobi PCS has announced Stacey Ytuarte as director of financial planning and analysis. She was previously an executive vice president of finance and operations at Startal Inc. and served 15 years in a variety of financial positions in the video game industry.
