The $150 million overhaul of the International Market Place in Waikiki has been put on hold as the owner evaluates alternative development plans.

The Queen Emma Foundation planned to raze the 48-year-old complex this summer to make way for a 230,000 square-foot retail and entertainment center. Mark Hastert, Queen Emma president and chief executive officer, said the foundation put the project on hold as it conducted an evaluation.

The nonprofit Queen Emma Foundation, a unit of the Queen's Health System, announced the project in September 2003 and had planned to complete it by late 2007.

BANCWEST SEES RISE IN PROFITS

BancWest Corp., parent company of Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank, yesterday reported net income of $149.1 million for the second quarter of 2005, up 30 percent from the same quarter last year.

For the first six months of 2005, BancWest's net income was $285.8 million, up 25.4 percent from the previous year.

"Continued organic growth, plus the impact of last year's acquisitions of Community First Bank and Union Safe Deposit Bank, produced yet another earnings record for BancWest," said Don McGrath, president and chief executive officer of BancWest.

BancWest is a wholly owned subsidiary of Paris-based BNP Paribas.

DELTA'S QUARTERLY LOSS SHRINKS

ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines Inc. said its second-quarter loss narrowed significantly compared with a year ago, but persistently high fuel prices have limited the impact of solid gains in revenue.

And while the Atlanta-based company remains committed to avoiding bankruptcy, "there are some things beyond our control," chief executive Gerald Grinstein told investors.

He cited fuel prices and pension obligations as examples and said Delta will review those items in determining its future course.