Rex Tire & Supply re-brands as Servco

Rex Tire & Supply has been renamed Servco Tire Co. some 43 years after its 1971 acquisition by Servco Pacific Inc.

"Servco Tire Co. will provide the same high-quality products and exceptional customer service associated with Servco Automotive," said Pamela Person, Servco Tire Co. vice president and director.

On Oahu, Servco Tire Co. offers wholesale service to the automotive industry only. Its phone number has been changed to 564-2600.

The Wailuku location caters to both the automotive industry and the general public, for whom the company also offers tire rotation and flat repair services.

Facebook assists small-biz workshops

Facebook Small Business Boost sessions to help local businesses create success through social media will feature local entrepreneurs who themselves have found success by online networking. Attendance at the workshops is free.

The Maui session will feature Maui’s Children Bookstore + Cafe, Pride of Maui, Koa’s Seaside Grill and 808 Shells, while attendees on Oahu will learn techniques used successfully by the Pacific Aviation Museum, Hoku­lani Bake Shop and Martin & MacArthur.

On Maui the small-business workshop will run from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the King Kame­ha­meha Golf Club. The Oahu event will be from 1 to 3 p.m. May 27 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz has been invited as a special guest at the events, presented by Facebook, the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and the Maui Economic Development Board.

"Small businesses are a central part of our local economy and important to Hawaii jobs," Schatz said. Since consumers increasingly are using social media like Facebook to find goods and services, the workshops are "a fantastic opportunity for our local small businesses to get new tools to expand their businesses and connect with new customers online," he added. "This is a great way small businesses can stay competitive and thrive."

Maui attendees can register online at fbmaui.eventbrite.com, while the link for Oahu registrants is fbhonolulu.eventbrite.com.

AstraZeneca nixes $119B offer from Pfizer

LONDON » The board of AstraZeneca on Monday rejected the improved $119 billion takeover offer from U.S. drugmaker Pfizer, a decision that caused a sharp slide in the U.K. company’s share price as many investors think it effectively brings an end to the protracted and increasingly bitter takeover saga.

The board said in a statement that it "reiterates its confidence in AstraZeneca’s ability to deliver on its prospects as an independent, science-led business."

Pfizer, which is the world’s second-biggest drugmaker by revenue, has been courting No. 8 AstraZeneca since January, arguing their businesses are complementary. On Sunday it raised its stock-and-cash offer by 15 percent to $118.8 billion, or 70.73 billion pounds. That would be the richest acquisition ever among drugmakers and the third biggest in any industry, according to figures from research firm Dealogic.

AstraZeneca didn’t take long to reject the new offer, its board arguing Pfizer is making "an opportunistic attempt to acquire a transformed AstraZeneca, without reflecting the value of its exciting pipeline" of experimental drugs.

Because Pfizer said it won’t raise its offer again or launch a hostile takeover bid over the heads of AstraZeneca’s board, the prospect of a deal looks increasingly remote unless AstraZeneca shareholders urge a change of mind. Pfizer has said it hopes AstraZeneca’s shareholders will push for a deal.

Temporary jobs on rise in shifting economy

WASHINGTON » While the U.S. economy has improved since the Great Recession ended five years ago, part-time and "contract" workers are filling many of the new jobs.

Contract workers made up less than half of 1 percent of all U.S. employment in the 1980s but now account for 2.3 percent. Economists predict contract workers will play a larger role in the years ahead. They are a diverse army of laborers, ranging from janitors, security officers, home-care and food service workers to computer programmers, freelance photographers and illustrators.

Labor leaders and many economists are worried because contract workers have less job security and don’t contribute to the economy through spending as much as permanent, full-time workers. Nor do they have the same job protections.

ON THE MOVE

Bonterra Solar has hired:

» Anthony Garnett Jr. as sales manager. He has more than 10 years of sales experience in Hawaii, including serving in residential special operations for Sunetric, leading the company with a divisional customer service rating of 92.4 percent.

» Liz Brewer as administrative assistant and customer service representative. She has more than 15 years of customer service and administrative experience in Hawaii and on the mainland, including working as shipping coordinator at Aloha Isle Moving on Kauai and at Newspaper Agency Corp. and MediaOne of Utah.

Ka Mana’o, a Leeward Community College campus publication, took top honors for school newspaper excellence at the Hawaii Publisher Association’s Pa’i Awards on Thursday at Hilton Hawaiian Village. Co-editor Tyla Smith and creative director Joel Gasper received the plaque on behalf of the staff, which consists of more than 20 writers, photographers, layout designers, illustrators and editors, as well as their adviser, Stanley Lee. The award is the first Ka Mana’o received since the paper’s revival in 2010.

SHIP AHOY!

Today’s ship arrivals and departures:

HONOLULU HARBOR