Alaska Airlines said Thursday it will begin daily nonstop service between San Francisco and Kona beginning Dec. 14.

The Seattle-based carrier, which in December finalized its acquisition of Virgin America, will depart San Francisco at 11 a.m. and arrive in Kona at 2:30 p.m. The return leg leaves Kona at 3:30 p.m. and arrives in San Francisco at 10:35 p.m.

Alaska will use an Airbus A320 on the route.

Stocks lift U.S. household wealth to $92.8T

WASHINGTON >> The stock market’s rise to record levels fueled a big increase in U.S. household wealth in the final three months of last year. The wealth gains could lead to more spending that would lift the economy, but the increases aren’t widely shared.

Americans’ stock and mutual fund portfolios jumped $728 billion in value in the October-December quarter, the Federal Reserve said Thursday. Home values rose $557 billion.

Total household wealth increased 2.3 percent to $92.8 trillion. The figure includes checking and savings accounts, and subtracts mortgages and other debt.

Still, not all Americans are reaping the gains. The wealthiest 10 percent of Americans own 80 percent of the stock market. And younger Americans are less likely to be homeowners than previous generations, as renting increased in the wake of the housing bubble.

Identity theft victims fell by 46% last year

WASHINGTON >> The IRS strikes back: The tax agency reports that the number of identity theft victims plummeted last year after agents struggled for years to combat what has become a multibillion-dollar industry.

The number of victims dropped by 46 percent, to 376,000, the IRS said. These taxpayers had their identities stolen by criminals who used their Social Security numbers and birth dates to obtain fraudulent tax refunds.

The IRS stopped nearly 1 million fraudulent refunds from being issued last year. They totaled almost $6.6 billion, the agency said.

Identity theft peaked at the IRS in 2014, when the agency identified more than 766,000 victims. That same year the IRS blocked 1.8 million in fraudulent refunds from being issued. They totaled $10.8 billion.

ON THE MOVE

>> Domestic Violence Action Center has hired Eleonore Veillet Chowdhury as a grants manager. She was previously an officer and program adviser for Global Network of Women Peacebuilders.

>> Jeffrey M. Boromisa is a new trustee on Hawaii Pacific University’s board. His decades of experience include serving as a senior executive of the Kellogg Co. and president of Asia Pacific. In 2010 Boromisa started serving as an executive in residence at HPU’s College of Business.

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