The U.S. Small Business Administration has made $750,000 available to Hawaii businesses through its State Trade and Export Promotion program.

The funds are part of $17.4 million awarded to 40 states and Puerto Rico to support small-business efforts to increase exporting activities.

Exports are key to America’s economic growth, said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet in a statement.

“Unlocking trade opportunities for small businesses is key to continued growth and expansion,” she said, adding that the SBA’s STEP program makes local resources available to help small businesses tap global markets.

The $750,000 allotted for Hawaii was equalled only by the award for Michigan. Puerto Rico and all other states received smaller awards.

The 2015 funding will enable states to help small businesses with export-related activities including participation in foreign trade missions, international market sales trips, marketing campaign design and more.

8 people file suit over Ashley Madison information breach

LOS ANGELES » Eight people across the U.S. who registered to use Ashley Madison are suing the website for cheaters after hackers released personal and detailed information of millions of users, including financial data and sexual proclivities.

The lawsuits were filed between last month and Monday by Ashley Madison users in California, Texas, Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee and Minnesota. They all seek class-action status to represent the estimated 37 million registered users of Ashley Madison.

The lawsuits, which seek unspecified damages, claim negligence, breach of contract and privacy violations. They say Ashley Madison failed to take reasonable steps to protect the security of its users, including those who paid a special fee to have their information deleted.

Last month, hackers infiltrated Ashley Madison’s website and downloaded private information. The details — including names, emails, home addresses, financial data and message history — were posted publicly online last week.

“Needless to say, this dumping of sensitive personal and financial information is bound to have catastrophic effects on the lives of the website’s users,” according to a lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of an anonymous Los Angeles man.

New-home sales rebounded in July

WASHINGTON » Americans stepped up their purchases of new homes in July, with sales surging in the Northeast.

The Commerce Department says new-home sales rose 5.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 507,000, recovering from a slide in purchases in June.

Buyers have crowded into the housing market this year. Backed by solid job growth over the past two years and relatively low mortgage rates, sales of new homes jumped 21.2 percent through the first half of 2015, although the government sales report is volatile on a monthly basis.

Home prices in June gained solidly

WASHINGTON » U.S. home prices posted strong gains in June, another sign of health in the housing market.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 5 percent from a year earlier, a slight improvement on May’s 4.9 percent increase, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Prices rose 10.2 percent in Denver, 9.5 percent in San Francisco and 8.2 percent in Dallas. Chicago posted the smallest gain, just 1.4 percent.

American consumers’ confidence rises

WASHINGTON » U.S. consumer confidence rebounded in August to the strongest reading in seven months after having fallen sharply in July.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its index of consumer confidence increased to 101.5 in August, up from a revised July reading of 91.0. It was the best showing since January.

Conference Board economist Lynn Franco says that consumers’ assessment of current conditions was considerably more upbeat in August, primarily due to a more favorable view of the labor market.

Best Buy beats analysts’ forecasts

NEW YORK » Best Buy’s turnaround is charging ahead.

The nation’s largest consumer electronics chain posted fiscal second-quarter results that handily beat analysts’ estimates as shoppers picked up major appliances, large-screen televisions and mobile phones.

The stock surged more than 14 percent in midday trading Tuesday.

Best Buy’s results are benefiting from an overall shift in consumer spending toward big-ticket items in the home amid improving home values. Business is also being helped by an explosion of new gadgets like the Apple watch, which will be rolled out to all of Best Buy’s big-box stores by the end of September. The trend in spending for the home is also playing into the hands of home improvement players like Home Depot, which also reported strong second-quarter results last week.

On The Move

» The Queen’s Medical Center has named the following two new directors:

— Dr. Rick Bruno is medical director for the transfer center and bed placement. He has more than 15 years’ experience in emergency department operations management and specializes in patient flow and experience. Bruno also serves the state Department of Health as district EMS medical director for Oahu.

— Gwen Ouye Yokota has been promoted to director of physician recruitment, retention and group practice. Yokota has been employed by the Queen’s Medical Center for 11 years.

» Travaasa Experiential Resorts has announced the promotion of Marni Aina to assistant general manager from hospitality manager at Travaasa Hana. Aina joined the resort (then called Hotel Hana-Maui) in 2006 as a massage therapist and later held management positions such as spa manager and spa concierge.

Ship Ahoy!

Wednesday’s ship arrivals and departures: