BUSINESS BRIEFS
Investors urged to study options
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Tung Chan, Hawai'i's Commissioner of Securities, is reminding investors who had money frozen in auction rate securities that they should look at redemption opportunities arising from settlements between regulators and Wall Street firms.
"Investors should be aware that the offers to repurchase their auction rate securities are not open indefinitely, and we urge any investor with questions about the repurchase program to contact the firm from which they originally purchased their auction rate securities," Chan said.
Eleven firms have agreed in principle to repurchase more than $50 million of auction rate securities, which often were sold to consumers as a near-cash equivalent that provided a better return than money market accounts.
A number of firms have established hotlines to respond to questions from customers concerning the terms of the settlements: Bank of America (866-638-4183); Citibank (866-720-4802); Deutsche Bank (866-926-1437); Goldman Sachs (888-350-2857); JP Morgan (866-450-8470); Merrill Lynch (888-706-1381); Morgan Stanley (800-566-2273); UBS (800-253-1974); Wachovia (866-283-7943).
CASTLE GROUP REPORTS 3Q LOSS
The Honolulu-based parent of Castle Resorts & Hotels said it lost $120,519 in the third quarter as falling occupancy and room rates took their toll on Hawai'i's tourism sector.
The loss compares with a profit of $15,323 in the same quarter a year earlier.
Castle Group said third-quarter revenue fell to $4.7 million in the third quarter, down 16 percent from $5.6 million in the year earlier period. Through the first nine months of 2008, revenue was down 1 percent to $15.3 million from the same period in 2007.
Castle said its operations outside of Hawai'i tempered the impact on the overall revenue picture as did the expansion of the portfolio of properties under management during the past nine months.
Castle Resorts & Hotels manages 26 properties throughout Hawai'i, Micronesia, New Zealand and Thailand. The firm's shares, which are traded over the counter, closed yesterday at $1.13, unchanged from the previous day.
ML MACADAMIA SHARES SUSPENDED
The New York Stock Exchange said shares of ML Macadamia Orchards L.P.'s will be suspended from trading prior to the market opening on Nov. 21 because the Hilo company's market capitalization had fallen below the exchange's listing standards.
ML Macadamia earlier this week had said the Big Board might might delist its Class A units because it hadn't met a listing criteria of having at least $25 million market capitalization on a 30-trading-day average.
NYSE Regulation Inc. said ML Macadamia had a right to appeal the decision, but that it understood the company was applying for a listing on another exchange.
UH DEAN SPEAKS TO BUSINESS GROUP
Maenette Kape'ahiokalani Padeken Ah Nee-Benham, the first dean of the University of Hawai'i's Hawai'inuikea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, will be the featured speaker at the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce's monthly luncheon meeting Thursday.
Benham oversees the school's three divisions, Kamakakuokalani Hawaiian Studies, Kawaihuelani Hawaiian Language, and Ka Papa Lo'i Kanewai.
Registration and networking will begin at 11:30 a.m., with lunch at noon. The cost for members is $20 and $25 for nonmembers. The location is 1451 Queen Emma St. For more information, call 497-4084.
