WASHINGTON » U.S. builders broke ground on apartment complexes last month at the fastest pace in nearly 28 years, as developers anticipate that recent job gains will launch a wave of renters.
The Commerce Department said Friday that housing starts in June rose 9.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million homes. All of that growth came from a 28.6 percent surge in multifamily housing that put apartment construction at its highest rate since November 1987. Starts for single-family houses fell 0.9 percent last month.
Japan will restart Tokyo Olympic plans
TOKYO » Japan scrapped the design of the Olympic stadium for the 2020 Tokyo games because of soaring costs Friday and said it will reopen bidding for a new plan, in a stunning reversal that leaves the 2019 Rugby World Cup without a main venue. The government has been under mounting criticism as the estimated cost of the new National Stadium rose to ¥252 billion ($2 billion), nearly twice as much as the initial estimate of ¥130 billion.
Boeing warns of flying with bulk batteries
WASHINGTON » Boeing, one of the world’s two largest aircraft makers, warned its passenger airline customers Friday that flying bulk shipments of lithium-ion batteries can cause fires capable of destroying the planes.
The guidance sent to airlines around the globe urged that they not carry the batteries as cargo "until safer methods of packaging and transport are established and implemented," Boeing spokesman Doug Alder said.
The rechargeable batteries are used in cellphones, laptop computers, power tools and many other electronic devices. They are also often shipped as cargo on international airline flights.
Google shares gain record $65B in value
NEW YORK » Google is already one of the largest companies in the world, and on Friday it made one of the largest stock market moves ever. The Internet giant reported strong second-quarter results Thursday, sending its stock climbing. Google’s market capitalization, already around $403 billion, rose some $65 billion to finish at $468.3 billion, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Google’s Class A stock traded above $700 for the first time since the company conducted a stock split last spring.
ON THE MOVE
‘Ike, formerly known as DataHouse Holdings Corp., has announced that Ben Ancheta Jr. is the company’s new chief development officer. Prior to joining ‘ike, he was the chief revenue officer at ProService Hawaii, overseeing account and sales management as well as client retention and new revenue growth. Ancheta also held various positions at Luminant and Deloitte.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority board of directors announced that L. Richard “Rick” Fried Jr. has been appointed as its new chairman. He has served on the HTA board of directors since 2012. A founding member of Cronin, Fried, Sekiya, Kekina and Fairbanks, Fried has practiced law for more than 40 years. He is also a former president of the Hawaii Association for Justice and has been named in “Best Lawyers in America” for more than 25 years.
Interim Healthcare Honolulu has announced that Santiago Rivera is the new chief operating officer. He previously was the chief executive officer of John Hopkins in South America in Lima, Peru.
