Hawaii lags in ranking of best small cities

Hilo, Kahului, Pearl City, Kaneohe and Waipahu are Hawaii’s best small cities but don’t shine brightly, according to a new ranking of 1,268 small cities in the U.S.

Being Hawaii’s best doesn’t mean much as the towns don’t appear on the list until No. 1,067, starting with Hilo. Kahului ranked 1,108, Pearl City at 1,151, Kaneohe at 1,205 and Waipahu at 1,226.

The WalletHub analysis, released Tuesday, reviewed 22 measures including housing costs, school system quality, the number of restaurants per capital and other factors.

The No. 1 small city in the U.S. is Princeton, N.J., which also earned the top rank for economic health; No. 2 is Littleton, Colo.; and No. 3 is Dublin, Ohio.

Of the Hawaii cities, Hilo’s overall quality of life was ranked at No. 249 in the nation, while Kahului’s is at 369. Quality-of-life rankings for the other burgs are all farther down the list, with scores greater than 1,000.

The full list can be seen at 808ne.ws/1PjI6SF.

Tesla loss widens but production on target

DETROIT >> Tesla Motors’ net loss more than tripled in the third quarter as expenses and research costs rose, but investors cheered news that the company expects to meet or exceed its production targets this year.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based electric car maker said Tuesday it expects to produce between 50,000 and 52,000 vehicles this year. That’s lower than the target of 55,000 it set earlier this year but meets an updated forecast the company provided in August. Tesla shares rose almost 10 percent in after-hours trading.

Tesla’s loss of $229.9 million, or $1.78 a share, compares with a loss of $74.7 million, or 60 cents a share, a year ago.

Xi says China needs 6.5 percent growth

BEIJING >> President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that China needs at least 6.5 percent economic growth in coming years to become “moderately prosperous.” The ruling Communist Party also announced plans to let the country’s tightly controlled currency trade freely by 2020.

The announcements follow a high-level planning meeting last week at which ruling party leaders promised to make the world’s second-largest economy more productive and to raise living standards.

First ‘outsider’ to lead retailer L.L. Bean

FREEPORT, Maine >> Outdoors retailer L.L. Bean is going outside the company for the first time in its 103-year history for its new CEO, tapping the chief merchandising and marketing officer of a Chinese e-commerce business, officials said Tuesday.

Chairman Shawn Gorman made the announcement to workers in a memo, telling them the L.L. Bean family and board unanimously agreed to hire Stephen Smith from Chinese online grocer Yihaodian.

Smith will begin his duties in January, replacing Chris McCormick, who has served as CEO for 14 years.

McDonald’s fries return to Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela >> Fast-food lovers in Venezuela are enjoying french fries at McDonald’s franchises once again after the side dish went missing last winter. Venezuela’s widespread and worsening shortages are driven in part by the country’s tight currency controls, which make it hard to get dollars for imports.

ON THE MOVE

Thushara Perera has been appointed director of finance for Turtle Bay Resort. He will be responsible for directing all financial activities for the resort, including leadership of the finance, information technology and purchasing teams; counsel to management on strategic planning and business decisions; and compliance oversight of generally accepted accounting principles.

The Hawaii Group (HiGroup) has hired Loryn Guiffre  as vice president of marketing. She has experience in developing and executing marketing and public relations strategies, and displays exceptional team-building and project management ability. Guiffre previously served as a director of marketing and communications at Maryknoll School as well as head of product marketing at CBI Polymers, a startup under the Skai Ventures umbrella.