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Business/In Brief • Jan. 9, 2014

Oahu home sales dropped 3 percentHONOLULU - Sales of single-family homes and condominiums on Oahu saw a nearly 3 percent drop in December.That's according to monthly statistics released Tuesday by the Honolulu Board of Realtors. There were 283 single-family homes sold on the island last month, compared with 291 for the same month last year. There were 390 condos sold, down from 401 in December 2012.Board President Julie Meier says the small dip in sales is typical for this time of year.The median price for a single-family home last month was $685,000, about 14 percent higher than in ...

Business/In Brief • Jan. 7, 2014

Suisan Company gets new presidentHILO - Suisan Company Ltd., a 106-year-old food distribution company, has a new president.Glenn Hashimoto of Hilo has replaced Rex Matsuno, who served as president since 1967.The Hawaii Tribune-Herald says the Hilo-based business serves supermarkets, schools, hotels and restaurants. It employs 175 people on the Big Island.Hashimoto began his new position on Jan. 1. He is the seventh president in the history of the company, which began in 1907 as Sui San Kabushiki Kaisha.Hashimoto joined the company as a bookkeeper in 1973.

Business/In Brief • Jan. 4, 2014

Obama to push for restoring benefitsHONOLULU - President Barack Obama will press Congress to reinstate long-term unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans when he returns to Washington next week.Obama will hold an event at the White House on Tuesday, where he'll warn of negative consequences for the economy if Congress fails to act quickly. The White House says Obama will be joined at the event by Americans whose benefits expired in late December.Under the benefits program, the federal government provided an average monthly stipend of $1,166.However, an extension was dropped from a ...

Support small businesses to help alleviate unemployment woes

Across the county there is deep concern for the approximately 1.3 million Americans who have received long extended federal unemployment benefits as these extensions ended this past Saturday. Those who have come to rely on these unemployment benefits now face a very harsh reality.While some have referred to this end as a "sudden halt," that really is not the case. It was part of a negotiated budget deal. Yet, time went by as it often does on the national level and we get down to the eleventh hour when suddenly it becomes huge national news.The problem is the system, which continues to ...

Mayor’s Small Business Awards nominees sought

Nominations are being accepted for the 2014 Mayor's Small Business Awards, an annual recognition that honors outstanding small businesses in Maui County.To be eligible, businesses must have 100 or fewer employees and a Hawaii general excise tax license for at least two years. Nominees will be judged on business leadership in a changing economic environment, a quality work environment for employees, the aloha spirit and exemplary customer service, partnerships with other sectors of the community and other exceptional qualities or traits.The deadline for nominations is noon Feb. 11.This ...

Business/In Brief • Jan. 2, 2014

HONOLULU - The White House is calling on Congress to make its first legislation of the new year the restoration of unemployment insurance for Americans whose benefits have expired.More than 1 million Americans lost jobless benefits last week. White House economist Gene Sperling says restoring the benefits would not only help those individuals, but also lead to the creation of 200,000 jobs and economic growth.Under the benefits program, the federal government provided an average monthly stipend of $1,166. However, an extension was dropped from a budget deal struck in December and ...