BUSINESS BRIEFS
Isle official to testify in D.C.
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Hawai'i Insurance Commissioner J.P. Schmidt is scheduled to testify today in Washington, D.C., before a congressional committee considering a bill that would enable participating states to share in the financial risk of recovering from catastrophic events.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners selected Schmidt to speak on behalf of state insurance regulators at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee on the Homeowners Defense Act of 2007.
The bill would create a voluntary process for states to pool their catastrophe risks and transfer the risk to the capital markets through issuance of "cat" bonds.
HELP-WANTED ADS MATCH VACANCIES
There were almost as many job vacancies as online help-wanted ads in Hawai'i during August, according to a survey by the Conference Board, a New York business and economic research organization.
The survey found there were 1.06 jobless residents for each online ad. That was the 12th lowest rate in the nation, according to Conference Board data. There were nine states with rates with less than 1, meaning there were fewer unemployed people than vacancies. The national average was 1.85.
HEARST BUYOUT OFFER CHALLENGED
Hearst Corp.'s $593 million buyout offer for Hearst-Argyle Television Inc., a company that counts Honolulu's KITV among its holdings, is being challenged by a shareholder lawsuit filed in Dela-ware.
Bloomberg News reported shareholder Adele Brody accused directors of Hearst-Argyle Television Inc., owner of 26 television stations, of breaching their fiduciary duty to investors and is asking a judge to bar the transaction.
Closely held Hearst, publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle and almost 200 magazines, said last month that taking Hearst-Argyle private will free the company from pressure for short-term results.
