Cyanotech hires agribusiness executive

Publicly traded, Kona-based Cyanotech Corp. has hired Gerard "Gerry" Watts to fill the newly created position of chief operations officer.

Watts, 56, has some 30 years experience as an operations executive in the food and agribusiness industries, including a stretch of time at Maui Land and Pineapple Co.

Most recently he served as the principal consultant for international agribusiness for ProducePro Consultancy, where he advised domestic and international firms on the global produce trade.

"With his expertise in profit and supply chain optimization, lean enterprise operations and organizational development, Gerry will add depth to the company’s management team," said Brent Bailey, president and CEO, in a statement.

Island Air sponsors disabilities nonprofit

Island Air, the state’s second largest airline, said Monday it is sponsoring Best Buddies Hawaii, a nonprofit that assists people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Best Buddies Hawaii operates in 17 middle schools and high schools on Oahu and Maui. Island Air will provide flights to Best Buddies.

"This partnership with Island Air will greatly enhance the efficiency of our programs by allowing BBHI staff and board members to travel between Maui and Oahu to grow our programs and fundraising events," said Best Buddies State Director Mike McCormick.

PricewaterhouseCoopers to pay $25M

ALBANY, N.Y. » PricewaterhouseCoopers will pay $25 million and face a two-year suspension from consulting for new bank clients under an agreement with New York regulators following an investigation that showed the company improperly altered a report about Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi laundering money.

Monday’s agreement followed a $250 million settlement between the bank and the same regulators last year.

New York’s Department of Financial Services said its investigation showed PricewaterhouseCoopers, under pressure from bank executives, improperly altered a report to regulators on bank wire transfers on behalf of Iran, Sudan and other countries under U.S. sanctions.

U.S. homebuilder confidence rises

U.S. homebuilders are feeling more confident in their sales prospects headed into next year, a sign that home construction and sales of newly built homes may pick up after stalling this summer.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Monday rose this month to 55, up two points from a revised reading of 53 in July.

The latest reading is the third monthly increase in a row and the highest since January, when it was 56. Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor.

Builders’ view of current sales conditions for single-family homes, their outlook for sales over the next six months and traffic by prospective buyers each increased since July.

Bourbon production reaches high point

LOUISVILLE, Ky. » Kentucky bourbon makers are making a big bet by stashing away their largest stockpiles in more than a generation.

To put it in bartenders’ lingo: Distillers are putting up the tab for millions of rounds of bourbon years before they are even ordered. The production poses an inherent risk, but hitting the moment right — a big supply meshing with big demand — could mean a serious payday for companies big and small.

Missing the target would leave bourbon makers awash with supply and leave future production in question, particularly for craft distilleries that have seen a surge in popularity.

Large companies are banking on continued international demand from places such as China and a culture in the U.S. that currently has a taste for bourbon, which has to be aged at least two years in new charred oak barrels.

China promises to rein in executive pay

BEIJING » China’s president has promised to rein in "unreasonably high" pay for executives at government-owned companies in an apparent effort to mollify public frustration at the wealth of state industry.

President Xi Jinping’s announcement, carried by the official Xinhua News Agency, comes as the ruling Communist Party is pressing government officials to cut spending on limousines, banquets and other trappings of office.

Pay for executives at state-owned companies in industries including oil, banking and telecommunications can be hundreds of times that of the average Chinese.

Xi’s announcement gave no details of changes but said companies must make sure their pay scales are "proper."

The president was quoted as saying at a Cabinet meeting that "unreasonably high and excessive incomes must be regulated."

ON THE MOVE

Honolulu HomeLoans has announced Kelly Sakai as a senior loan officer specializing in residential mortgage loan origination. Sakai has 15 years in the mortgage industry and has numerous experience as a wholesale account executive and a retail loan officer.

Hawaii State Federal Credit Union has elected the following two members to its board:

» Terrence Aratani is the chief of staff for the office of Senate President Donna Mercado Kim. Aratani’s experience includes being an attorney with 25 years of government service as a legislative aide, and an attorney for the Senate Majority Office and state Insurance Division.

» Kaulana Park is a senior project manager for Rider Levett Bucknall. His experience includes serving as a director-chairman for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and as manager of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund.

SHIP AHOY!

Today’s ship arrivals and departures:

HONOLULU HARBOR

BARBERS POINT HARBOR

Source: Department of Transportation, Harbors Division