Hawaiian Airlines' load factor dipped slightly in June but the airline still managed to fill 86.4 percent of its seats last month.

Hawaiian, which is among the industry leaders in load factor for scheduled service, said that last month's results compared with June 2004's 88.7 percent, which was tops in the industry. Scheduled service improved in other categories including revenue passenger miles, available seat miles and number of passengers served. Hawaiian shares finished at unchanged at $4.25.

TIMBER FIRM BOUGHT OUT

Prudential Timber Investments, Inc., which manages about 21,000 acres of eucalyptus planted on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island, is being acquired by Hancock Timber Resource Group.

Boston-based Hancock will also assume management responsibility for PruTimber's 430,000 acres of timberland in the southern United States, New Zealand and Brazil.

The PruTimber holdings are worth about $660 million, and will bring Hancock's total acreage and assets under management to about 2.5 million acres and $3.1 billion.

BANKER NAMED TO SEATTLE POST

Russell Lau, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Finance Factors, has been elected to serve as a director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle.

A veteran of 29 years in the banking industry, Lau directed a major restructuring effort for Finance Factors. His term as director for the Seattle Bank runs through Dec. 31, 2006. The Federal Home Loan Bank system was created to help buyers secure mortgages.

NATION WORLD

GE REPORTS 24% SURGE IN PROFITS

NEW YORK — General Electric Co., one of the world's biggest companies, said yesterday its second-quarter earnings jumped 24 percent as profits surged across all 11 of its business units, prompting the company to tighten its full-year forecast.

GE reported double-digit profit growth at each of its businesses, which range from building jet engines and power plants to the NBC television network and the nation's largest financial services firm.

MCDONALD'S SEES STRONG RESULTS

CHICAGO — McDonald's Corp. said yesterday its second-quarter results will handily beat Wall Street's estimates as longer hours and new products continue to lift sales at the world's top-selling fast food company. McDonald's also released figures showing that its sales growth pace accelerated in June and said operating earnings will surpass analysts' expectations by 3 cents per share. McDonald's shares rose $1.39, or 4.7 percent, to close at $30.99.

PG MERGER CLEARED BY EU

CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble Co.'s proposed $57 billion takeover of Gillette, which would create a global consumer products giant, gained European Union antitrust approval yesterday.

Because the two companies overlap in the European market with battery toothbrushes, P&G agreed to sell its Spinbrush line.