Hawaii is No. 2 in Well-Being rankings

The seventh annual Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index State Rankings find Alaska at the pinnacle with the nation’s highest well-being ranking, followed by Hawaii in second place.

The rest of the top 10, in order, are South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Colo­rado, Nebraska, Utah, New Mexico and Texas, while Kentucky and West Virginia, respectively, continued their stretch of having the lowest well-being ranking in the nation for a sixth straight year.

The Well-Being Index is created from responses contained in some 177,000 interviews done nationwide. The questions include topics such as physical health, sense of purpose, social relationships, financial security and relationship to a respondent’s community.

Alaska is the only state to have ranked in the top 10 in all five interview components.

Hawaii and Colorado, meanwhile, are the only states to finish in the top 10 each year since 2008, according to a Gallup-Healthways announcement.

Many Walmart workers to get raises

BENTONVILLE, Ark. » Hoping to shed its reputation for offering little more than dead-end jobs, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation’s biggest private employer, is giving raises to nearly a half-million workers and offering what it says are more opportunities for advancement.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. told the Associated Press that as part of $1 billion it’s spending to change the way it trains and pays workers, the company will give raises to nearly 40 percent of its 1.3 million U.S. employees in the next six months.

In addition to raises, the company said it plans to make changes to how workers are scheduled, and add training programs for sales staff so that employees can more easily map out their future at the company.

The company said the changes, which were announced Thursday as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, will hurt profits this year.

With its new changes, the company’s average full-time wage will be $13 an hour, up from $12.85. For part-time workers the hourly wage will be $10, up from $9.48.

Firms’ offer to stevedores bypasses union

LOS ANGELES » Cargo companies have gone straight to West Coast dockworkers with what they call their "last, best and final" offer in a contract dispute that has choked off billions of dollars in international trade.

The move is likely to upset union leaders who have been negotiating behind closed doors under a media blackout.

Applications for jobless benefits fall

WASHINGTON » The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week, a sign that a recent string of strong job gains could continue.

Weekly applications for unemployment aid dropped 21,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 283,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average of applications, a less volatile number, fell 6,500 to 289,750, its lowest level in 15 weeks.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have been near or below 300,000 since September, a very low reading by historical standards that points to solid hiring. The average has dropped 16 percent in the past year.

American Express guilty in antitrust case

NEW YORK » American Express violated U.S. antitrust laws by barring merchants from asking customers to use one credit card over another, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

The case was a major blow to American Express, which argued that its policies kept it competitive against the larger payment networks of Visa and MasterCard and their bank partners. American Express plans to appeal the decision.

ON THE MOVE

Catholic Charities Hawaii has named Tonya "Toni" Higdon as quality assurance director. She has more than 15 years of leadership experience in project management, strategic planning and client relations, including serving as director of operations and director of care management and data management for Kansas Children’s Service League.

Ulupono Initiative, an impact investment group based in Hawaii, has announced the following new employees:

» Joshua Ross is a senior investment associate. He has 12 years of financial services experience, including serving as a senior investment analyst at Liberty Mutual Investment in Boston.

» Tyler Kruse is the company’s new communications specialist. He was previously a communications and digital media specialist in Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s administration and also worked in Anthology Marketing Group’s public relations division.

» Elizabeth Curley is the new office administrator. Prior to joining Ulu­pono, she worked at the Hawaii Community Foundation.

SHIP AHOY!

Today’s ship arrivals and departures:

HONOLULU HARBOR

KALAELOA BARBERS POINT HARBOR