SBA workshop to focus on health insurance
The Small Business Administration will conduct a workshop on key provisions of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
The free workshop for small-business owners will take place June 25 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the SBA’s office at Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Building 1, Suite 306.
Topics include health insurance exchanges — online marketplaces where individuals and businesses can shop for affordable health plans — essential health benefits and tax credits. Representatives of the state’s health insurance exchange and SBA will present information.
Register at www.sba.gov/hi or call 541-2990.
Utah company buys self-storage facilities
Utah-based Extra Space Storage Inc., a real estate investment trust, has increased its holdings in Hawaii with the nearly $30 million purchase of two self-storage facilities on Oahu.
The facilities are at 1414 Kalakaua Ave., near Young Street, and at 620 California Ave. in Wahiawa.
The purchase from California-based seller Jupiter Holdings LLC, brokered by CBRE, brings Extra Space’s holdings to seven self-storage facilities on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island.
2.25M workers quit jobs; hiring also climbs
WASHINGTON » More Americans are quitting their jobs, suggesting many are growing more confident in the job market.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that the number of people who quit their jobs in April jumped 7.2 percent to 2.25 million. That’s just below February’s level, which was the highest in 4 1⁄2 years.
Overall hiring also picked up in April, though not as dramatically. Employers filled 4.4 million jobs in April, a 5 percent increase from March. Hiring fell in March, and April’s level was below February’s.
Google snaps up Waze mapping service
SAN FRANCISCO » Google is buying online mapping service Waze in a $1.03 billion deal that keeps a potentially valuable tool away from its rivals while allowing it to gain technology that could improve the accuracy and usefulness of its own popular navigation system.
The acquisition announced Tuesday ends several months of speculation as Waze flirted with potential buyers interested in its rapidly growing service. Waze blends elements of a social network into its maps to produce more precise directions and more reliable information about local traffic conditions.
Google Inc. is believed to have trumped two of its fiercest foes, Facebook Inc. and Apple Inc., in the bidding for Waze, which is based in Israel but also maintains a Palo Alto, Calif., office near all three of the Silicon Valley giants.
China sales fall 19 percent for KFC parent
NEW YORK » Yum Brands says a key sales figure for China dropped 19 percent in May, as the parent company of KFC began to see signs of recovery from the double whammy of a bird flu scare and an earlier controversy involving its chicken supply.
The drop is an improvement from the 29 percent decline in April. The company said the latest figure reflects a 25 percent decline at KFC and 12 percent growth at Pizza Hut.
On Monday McDonald’s Corp. also blamed fears about bird flu for a decline in China sales for the month.
Yum Brands Inc. said that it expects sales at established restaurants to continue recovering through the course of the year and to turn positive in the fourth quarter. Although publicity around bird flu continued to have a "significant, negative impact" in May, Yum noted that the impact of past cases of bird flu has been short-lived.
World air fleet to double in 20 years, Boeing says
PARIS >> Boeing predicted the number of commercial aircraft in operation globally will double in the next two decades, with the bulk of some 35,000 new planes going to Asia, an executive from the airplane maker said Tuesday.
Speaking ahead of the Bourget international air show in Paris, Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing for Boeing Co., said rising oil prices are forcing carriers to think harder about efficiency, and that means smaller planes that burn less fuel. It also means design changes, streamlined air traffic control and improved navigation to shave miles off each flight.
The demand for fuel efficiency has eaten away at orders for the wide-body long-haul carriers that are major profit drivers for Boeing and Airbus, the world’s two biggest aircraft manufacturers.
On the Move
Hawaii National Bank has announced that Sherrie Kunishige has been appointed to senior customer service supervisor at the Hawaii Kai branch. She has worked for the bank for more than 20 years and was previously serving in the transaction management department.
Hawaiian Airlines has appointed Daniel F. Lyons senior director of performance engineering and operations analytics. He has more than 30 years of engineering, management and operational experience, including as a Marine Corps officer, an aeronautical engineer for the Navy, a program manager for the Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems-Advanced Technology Group and an officer in the intelligence community.
Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union has announced the following three members, who were nominated to the nine-member board of directors by the board nominations and election committee:
>> Peggy M. Ciriako, pro shop manager and tournament coordinator at the Kona Country Club
>> Mary M. Katayama, president of Union Products of Kona
>> Ross Oue, owner of Ross Oue, CPA
