Territorial Savings Bank wants to open its 29th branch at a site across the street from the Walmart parking garage on Keeaumoku Street.
The state’s fifth-largest bank is planning the branch at 735 Keeaumoku St. in the location formerly occupied by Morning Glory, close to Like Like Drive Inn, Territorial spokesman Walter Ida said Tuesday.
He said there is no target date yet for the opening.
Lower gas prices decrease retail sales
WASHINGTON >> U.S. retail sales slipped last month, pulled down by sharply lower gas prices, and Americans spent much less in January than previously estimated. The figures suggest that consumers remain cautious about spending despite steady hiring.
Retail sales fell 0.1 percent in February, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Excluding the volatile gas and auto categories, sales rose 0.3 percent. Overall sales were revised sharply lower in January, from a 0.2 percent gain to a drop of 0.4 percent.
Foreign ownership of U.S. debt rises
WASHINGTON >> Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities rose in January to the highest level in a year even though the biggest foreign owner, China, cut back slightly.
The Treasury Department says total foreign holdings increased 0.7 percent to $6.18 trillion. China trimmed its holdings 0.7 percent to $1.24 trillion while Japan, the second-largest foreign owner of Treasury debt, boosted its holdings 0.1 percent to $1.12 trillion.
The national debt now stands at a record $19.1 trillion. With the federal budget deficit projected to grow, the United States will need to see continued strong foreign demand for Treasury debt.
Homebuilders have cloudy outlook
U.S. homebuilders remain optimistic that the housing market will improve, but their expectations for sales over the next six months have dimmed just as the spring home-selling season gets underway.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Tuesday held steady at 58 this month.
Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good rather than poor. The index had been in the low 60s for eight months until February.
Chipotle says business is recovering
NEW YORK >> Chipotle says sales trends are showing improvement but were still down 26 percent for February as it tries to recover from a series of food scares.
The drop in sales at established locations for February follows a 36 percent decline for January. The February results were boosted by an extra day in the month this year, the company said.
Chipotle has stepped up food safety measures as well as its marketing and promotions to try to draw consumers back.
Instagram planning to prioritize posts
SAN FRANCISCO >> Instagram users could soon notice something different in their feeds: Instead of showing users the most recent posts first, the mobile photo-sharing app says it will give higher priority to posts that each user is likely to care about most.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s how Facebook decides what to show users of its online social network. Facebook Inc., which owns Instagram, has long used a complex formula to emphasize items it hopes will be “relevant” to each user, based on factors like whether the post came from a close friend or how the user responded to similar posts.
Instagram had previously acted more like rival Twitter, showing every post in reverse chronological order. But as its audience has grown to more than 400 million users, Instagram says it’s become harder for users to keep up with the gusher of photos and videos posted by friends and other accounts they follow.
Kaiser Permanente has announced the following new physicians to facilities on Oahu and Maui:
On the Move
>> Dr. Mary Kingma-Noland has joined the nephrology department at Kaiser Permanente Wailuku Medical Office. She served as a chief resident during her internal medicine residency at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco.
>> Dr. Marci Peralto has joined the obstetrics and gynecology department at Kaiser Permanente Honolulu Medical Office. She served as a chief resident at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center during her OB-GYN residency as well as served as a physician in the obstetrics and gynecology department at Colorado Permanente Medical Group.
>> Dr. Gale Prentiss has joined the sports medicine department at Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center. She previously served as a head team physician in the athletic department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
>> Dr. Ann Rahall has joined the obstetrics and gynecology department at Kaiser Permanente Wailuku Medical Office. She completed her residency at Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center in Los Angeles.
