HMSA unveils Friday farmers market

Hawaii Medical Service Association hosted a farmers market at its headquarters Friday. The market was outside the HMSA Building on Kee­au­moku and Rycroft streets. It will be open every Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"The farmers market at HMSA was organized by our employee well-being program and it’s one of several things we’re doing to make HMSA a happier, healthier place to work," Michael A. Gold, HMSA’s president and chief executive officer, said in a news release.

"We recently began bringing in fresh salads for our employees to buy for lunch and we started a rooftop vegetable garden. We want to make Hawaii a healthier place to live and the best way to do that is to lead by example."

HMSA is working with Nalo Farms to bring in fresh, local produce for the farmers market.

Food vendors such as Happy Heifer, which sold locally cultivated Greek yogurt; Impressed Juice Hawaii; Wai­ma­nalo Country Farms; The Pig and the Lady; and BUTA also participated.

BoxJelly tenant will offer demonstration

The creative workspace-for-rent known as BoxJelly will participate in International Collaboration Day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday.

The globally coordinated event will have co-working spaces like BoxJelly open their doors to the public and demonstrate what they’re about.

On Thursday tenant HICapacity will demonstrate the new in-house 3-D printer, among other planned activities.

BoxJelly, at 307-A Kamani St., normally rents individual desk space by the day, or month to month, as well as office suites and conference rooms.

Customers are typically entrepreneurs, freelancers or telecommuters using laptops or other mobile devices to get work done, according to a spokes­woman. The idea behind the open, partition-free work spaces is to encourage collaboration.

Additional details can be found at www.theboxjelly.com.

2 tobacco companies discuss merger

RICHMOND, Va. » Big Tobacco could soon get smaller.

The makers of Camel and Newport cigarettes said Friday they are in talks to combine two of the nation’s oldest and biggest tobacco companies. A deal between Reynolds American Inc. and Lorillard Inc. would create a formidable No. 2 to rival Altria Group Inc., owner of Philip Morris USA.

It also could spur a wave of consolidation in the tobacco business, shrink factories and workforces, and push prices for cigarettes higher even as smokers buy fewer of them.

The news follows months of speculation about the possible combination. In separate statements, the companies said no agreement has been reached, and there’s no guarantee one will be.

World Cup loser might see stock drop-off

LONDON » Argentina and Germany face off in the World Cup final Sunday, and investors in both countries will do well to be alert to potential drops on their stock markets the day after in case of defeat.

With markets driven by sentiment as well as fundamental factors such as growth, dividend payments and inflation, a big sporting defeat can depress the mood of traders and cause the stock market to underperform.

Alex Edmans, a professor at London Business School and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has assessed the impact of major sporting events on market behavior for years, and his analysis of this World Cup has confirmed that defeats have generally resulted in declines the day after that are greater than, or counter, to the performance of the wider global market.

Government budget surplus totals $71B

WASHINGTON » The U.S. government ran a monthly budget surplus in June, putting it on course to re­cord the lowest annual deficit since 2008.

The Treasury Department said Friday that its June surplus totaled $71 billion, after a $130 billion deficit in May. The government also ran a surplus in June 2013, bolstered by dividends from Fannie Mae, the mortgage giant under federal conservatorship for the past six years.

ON THE MOVE

Prudential Locations has announced:

» Sherrie Kuroda has become one of the firm’s partners. She has earned numerous awards since entering the industry in 2005, including having the most transactions statewide in 2013 and 2007 within Prudential Locations as well as having been named Prudential Locations Sales Person of the Year in 2007 and 2008.

» Tom Presler has become one of the firm’s partners. As a real estate agent with the company since 2007, Presler has received a number of professional recognitions, including being among the top 2 percent of Prudential Realtors nationwide.

» The Hawaii Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure has awarded $25,000 to Wai­kiki Health in support of breast health services. Funds will go toward referrals and clinical services for mammography and other imaging, targeting underserved populations.

SHIP AHOY!

Today’s ship arrivals and departures:

HONOLULU HARBOR