BUSINESS BRIEFS
Sofos managing Koko Marina
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Sofos Realty Corp. has taken over the management contract for Koko Marina Center.
The Sofos management team is headed by Suzie Setzler, who will supervise improvements, common-area expenses, budget preparations, tenant coordination and relations, marketing, as well as all physical management of the marina-front shopping center in Hawai'i Kai.
Scott Hayashi, vice president for commercial real estate, Stanford Carr Development, will continue to oversee the center on behalf of the owners, a group of local and mainland investors.
ALOHA SHIRTS 'COOL' IN JAPAN
Japan Hawai'i's tourism marketer to Japan gave away hundreds of aloha shirts last month for the second straight year as part of a campaign linked to the Japanese government's "Cool Biz" program.
Japan's "Cool Biz" program, which began last year to help reduce energy consumption, asks public workers to swap their jackets and ties for lighter clothing in the summer. In turn, Hawai'i Tourism Japan launched "Aloha Biz" to promote Hawai'i with aloha shirts. In this year's campaign, Hawai'i Tourism Japan gave away 400 aloha shirts in Japan in a drawing that attracted more than 10,000 applicants.
CONSUMER PRICES CLIMB
WASHINGTON — A new surge in energy prices pushed inflation higher in July, but other prices were more restrained, raising hopes on Wall Street that interest rates won't be rising further.
The Consumer Price Index jumped 0.4 percent last month, double the June increase, the Labor Department reported yesterday. But outside of energy and food, prices rose by just 0.2 percent, the smallest gain in five months. Gasoline prices rose 5.3 percent.
