BUSINESS BRIEFS
Hawaii stocks surge with market
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Shares of most of Hawai'i's publicly traded companies jumped for a second day as broader markets reacted to government plans to purge banks of bad assets.
Ten of 11 issues in The Honolulu Advertiser-Bloomberg Hawai'i Index climbed, led by local bank stocks.
The index rose 6.93 points, or 7.1 percent, to 104.80 and cleared the 100-point mark for the first time since May 1.
Bank of Hawaii shares surged $8.50, almost 14 percent, to close at a 52-week high of $70. Central Pacific Financial rose $2.05 to $20.75
The lone decliner for the day was Mera Pharmaceuticals, which traded at less than 1 cent a share.
The increases in the local index over the past two days mirrored a global rally. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 4 percent, capping its biggest two-day rise since the 1987 crash. The Dow Jones industrial average closed the day at 11,388.44.
GAS PRICES EASE BY A FEW PENNIES
Hawai'i's average gasoline price fell to $4.30 a gallon this week, a 2-cent-per-gallon drop from the previous week, according to the AAA Hawaii Weekend Gas Watch.
In Honolulu, the average price fell 3 cents a gallon to $4.19, with some retailers reporting prices below the $4 threshold. The Iwilei Costco was selling regular for $3.98 a gallon yesterday.
The average Honolulu price was down 13 cents from the previous month, but $1.09 higher than last year.
In Hilo, the average price was $4.35 a gallon, down one cent from last week and 23 cents less than a month earlier. The Hilo average price was up $1.09 from last year.
The average price in Wailuku was $4.60 a gallon, three cents less than last week, down 15 cents from a month earlier, and $1.04 higher than a year earlier.
COFFEE CROP REVENUE UP SLIGHTLY
The value of Hawai'i's coffee crop rose slightly this season compared with a year ago, according to a report by the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
The agency estimated statewide farm revenue from coffee in the 2007-2008 season at $31.88 million, up slightly from the $31.82 million in the prior season.
A small increase in acreage harvested was mostly offset by a small decline in prices.
Some 830 farms harvested coffee on 6,400 acres to produce 7.5 million pounds of coffee in the most recent season. That was up from 820 farms harvesting coffee on 6,300 acres to produce 7.4 million pounds a season earlier.
The average price per pound paid to farmers was $4.25 in the most recent season, down from $4.30 a season earlier.
Big Island farmers produced 3.9 million pounds of coffee, down from 4 million pounds a year ago, while the average price paid per pound rose by 10 cents to $6.50.
TOURISM REPS HEADING TO CHICAGO
More than 100 tourism salespeople from Hawai'i will travel to Chicago next week for The Motivation Show.
The Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau calls it the world's largest exhibition for companies looking for ways to reward employees. The gathering will draw 20,000 incentive planners and corporate meeting professionals from around the world.
Participants include Michael Murray, HVCB vice president of sales and marketing for corporate meetings and incentives.
Joining HVCB in the sales effort are representatives from the Kaua'i Visitors Bureau, O'ahu Visitors Bureau, Maui Visitors Bureau, Big Island Visitors Bureau, Hawai'i Convention Center and more than 50 travel industry companies.
