Aetna became the latest health insurer to cast doubt upon its future in the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges after it called off a planned expansion Tuesday and suggested it could abandon that market completely.

A departure by Aetna, the nation’s third-largest insurer, could further reduce the number of choices for customers and eventually push insurance prices higher. Competition by insurers is a key feature of the exchanges, designed to keep a lid on prices, but several insurers are abandoning them because they are losing enormous amounts of money.

Aetna said Thursday it has been swamped with higher-than-expected costs, particularly from pricey specialty drugs, and it will take a hard look at its current presence on exchanges in 15 states. When asked whether that meant the insurer might leave the exchanges entirely or just some markets in 2017, CEO Mark Bertolini said, “All of the above.”

Major insurers like UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Humana Inc. already have said they are scaling back their exchange participation in 2017, and several smaller, nonprofit insurance cooperatives are winding down business after losing millions.

The exchanges have helped millions of people gain health coverage, many with assistance from income-based tax credits. But insurers say this relatively small slice of their business has led to large losses because claims have been higher than expected and they are getting less government help than they thought.

Aetna said Tuesday it expects to lose $300 million this year from individual coverage it sells on the exchanges, or triple what it lost last year. Earlier this year Aetna said it hoped to break even in 2016.

Consumer spending rose in June, feds say

WASHINGTON >> American consumers turned in another strong month of spending in June despite a decline in spending on cars.

Consumer spending rose a solid 0.4 percent in June after an identical increase in May and a 1 percent surge in April, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. The strength in June came from a surge in spending on nondurable goods, which offset a drop in spending on autos.

Personal income grew a moderate 0.2 percent in June, matching May’s gain.

Robust sales cast doubt on Pfizer breakup

Rising sales of Pfizer Inc.’s key new medicines, and prospects that more drugs will be approved soon, have analysts speculating the biggest U.S. drugmaker won’t break up after all.

For five years the maker of Viagra has been mulling a split that might enable the resulting pieces to grow faster.

Pfizer executives fielded numerous questions on the issue as they discussed second-quarter results with analysts Tuesday, repeating that they will decide by year’s end.

The company reported net income of $2.02 billion, or 33 cents a share, down from $2.63 billion, or 42 cents a share, in 2015’s second quarter.

The New York-based company said earnings, adjusted for one-time costs and costs related to mergers and acquisitions, came to 64 cents per share. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 62 cents per share.

The maker of the Prevnar 13 vaccine against pneumonia posted revenue of $13.15 billion in the period, up 11 percent from a year earlier.

P&G beats analysts’ forecasts for quarter

CINCINNATI >> Procter & Gamble reported a quarterly profit Tuesday that topped Wall Street expectations as the world’s biggest consumer products company worked on slashing costs and pruning its product lineup to offset slow growth.

The maker of Tide detergent and Charmin toilet paper said its sales declined for its fiscal fourth quarter, hurt by unfavorable currency exchange rates.

P&G has been trying to transform its struggling business to better focus on bigger brands with growth potential. The company has already shed more than half of the 105 smaller brands it says collectively contribute little to its profit. For the three months ended June 30, the company earned $1.95 billion, or 69 cents a share. Excluding one-time items and discontinued brands, it said it earned 79 cents a share. That was more than the 74 cents per share Wall Street expected, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Total revenue was $16.1 billion in the period, also exceeding the $15.84 billion analysts expected.

 Hawaii National Bank has promoted the following three employees: 

 >> Richard Tran has been promoted to loan officer at the bank’s Kailua Branch. He was previously an associate loan officer for the bank as well as a management trainee when he joined Hawaii National Bank in 2012. 

 >> Kathryn Fujitani has been promoted to marketing manager in the Hawaii National Bank’s Marketing Department. She was previously a marketing officer and served as a management trainee when she joined the bank in 2007. 

 >> Robert Kroeger has been promoted to loan officer from management trainee in the bank’s Corporate Banking Department. He works closely to assist with local businesses’ financing needs.