Maui prices climb

Single-family home sales in Maui rose to a six-year high of 105 homes sold in May, while condominium sales remained steady at 138 units.

May’s median price for a single-family home was $540,000, up 41 percent from $382,000 a year ago.

The condo median price was $381,500, up 14 percent from $336,000 in May 2012.

Hotels’ donations help isle seniors in need

Starwood Hotels & Resorts donated household goods to Catholic Charities Hawaii to support seniors in need. The Sheraton Waikiki, Sheraton Princess Kaiu­lani, Royal Hawaiian Hotel and Moana Surfrider donated toiletries and other household items that will help seniors who are on fixed incomes and struggling to make ends meet.

Catholic Charities Hawaii offers assistance to people in need, regardless of faith or culture. For more information see www.catholiccharitieshawaii.org.

State gets OK for online insurance market

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have given the state approval to launch an online health insurance exchange Oct. 1.

The Hawaii Health Connector received conditional federal approval in January following the submission of its marketplace operating plans.

The exchange will serve as a one-stop shop where individuals and small businesses can search for affordable health insurance and apply for tax credits, subsidies and cost-sharing reductions under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama-care.

So far the state’s two largest health plans, Hawaii Medical Service Association and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, are the only insurers that have committed to operating on the exchange.

Plans purchased through the Connector will take effect Jan. 1.

Isle-based Cellana has deal to sell algal oil

Kailua-Kona-based Cellana, a developer of algae-based feedstocks for biofuels, said it has contracted to sell an unspecified amount of its product to Finnish-based Neste Oil.

Under the agreement, Neste has committed to purchase crude algal oil produced by commercial-scale algae biorefineries that Cellana is developing worldwide.

FedEx Freight rates to increase July 1

FedEx Freight will raise shipping rates by an average of 4.5 percent beginning July 1, the FedEx Corp. subsidiary announced today.

The rate increase applies to eligible FedEx Freight shipments within the United States including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; between the mainland and Canada; within Canada; between the mainland and Mexico; and within Mexico.

The fuel surcharge will remain unchanged.

S&P boosts outlook for long-term U.S. debt

WASHINGTON » Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services upgraded its outlook Monday for the U.S. government’s long-term debt. S&P cited the government’s strengthened finances, a recovering U.S. economy and some easing of Washington’s political gridlock.

The credit rating service raised its outlook to "Stable" from "Negative," which means it’s less likely to downgrade U.S. debt in the near future.

S&P also reaffirmed the government’s "AA+" long-term and "A-1+" short-term unsolicited sovereign credit ratings. The long-term rating remains a notch below S&P’s top grade.

Cheap food boosts sales, McDonald’s says

NEW YORK » Cheap eats and new menu items helped McDonald’s boost a key sales figure in May, bouncing back from a decline the previous month.

The world’s biggest hamburger chain said Monday that global sales rose 2.6 percent at restaurants open at least a year, helped by an extra Friday in the month. In the U.S. the figure rose 2.4 percent, as the Dollar Menu and new chicken wraps and egg white breakfast sandwiches lifted results.

ON THE MOVE

>> The National Park Service has hired Erika Stein as superintendent of Kalaupapa National Historical Park. She replaces Steve Prokop, who was recently selected as superintendent of Redwood National and State Parks. Stein has served at the park for more than five years as an archaeologist, cultural resource program manager and, most recently, as acting superintendent. She also has experience as a contract archaeologist in Hawaii and California.

>> The Royal Lahaina Resort has received a 2013 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award, honoring its guest hospitality and visitor reviews. The award recognizes the top-performing 10 percent of businesses listed in TripAdvisor, rated on an overall customer rating of 4 or more out of 5 points and on the volume of reviews.

City Mill and Simply Organized have raised $32,570 to support Aloha United Way.