“Economists: Job losses to bottom out in 1Q of 2010 - Daily Item” plus 4 more

Economists: Job losses to bottom out in 1Q of 2010 - Daily Item
News Archives - WTOP
Business Briefs - Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Ericsson hires 900 Canadian Nortel workers - IT World
German business optimism rises again in November - Associated Press

This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Economists: Job losses to bottom out in 1Q of 2010 - Daily Item

Posted: 25 Nov 2009 03:25 AM PST

Classifieds Search:

This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

News Archives - WTOP

Posted: 25 Nov 2009 06:24 AM PST

Sorry, readability was unable to parse this page for content.

This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Business Briefs - Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Posted: 25 Nov 2009 03:32 AM PST

Virginia firm earns harbor contract

Virginia-based TEC Inc. has won a $400 million, seven-year contract from the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration Office to streamline development efforts to improve Hawaii's commercial harbor facilities.

The company has operations in Hawaii and, for the new contract, has partnered with CH2M Hill, Integrated Concepts & Research Corp., Moffatt & Nichol, Bermello Ajamil & Partners Inc., Hoakea Communications LLC, Martin Associates, Harbour Mastery Inc. and Sea Engineering Inc. in order to meet the Maritime Administration's needs.

The Maritime Administration will oversee TEC personnel during completion of all phases of the port infrastructure expansion program.

Aloha Air Cargo offers discounts

Aloha Air Cargo has announced a 30 percent off discount program for interisland general freight shipping from Tuesday through Dec. 24.

Hawaii residents needing to ship goods interisland can obtain a coupon for the discount with free registration at www.alohaaircargo.com.

Those redeeming the coupon must show proof of Hawaii residency, and shipments must be prepaid.

Shipments are subject to a $14.95 minimum charge, plus applicable fuel surcharge and federal transportation tax of 6.25 percent.

Mobi PCS hires for expansion

Honolulu-based mobile phone company Mobi PCS will open a new store Friday at 87-2130-A Farrington Highway in Nanakuli, next to Fastop.

It has hired three new employees for the retail expansion and now employs approximately 100 people across the state.

Store hours for the Nanakuli Mobi PCS will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Monday through Saturday.

Mesa, attendants reach tentative pact

Mesa Airlines, the majority owner of go! Mokulele, has reached a tentative agreement with the Association of Flight Attendants through mediation with the National Mediation Board.

The agreement is subject to union ratification.

Saab purchase falls through

DETROIT » A Swedish automaker has backed out of a deal to buy Saab from General Motors Co., casting serious doubt on the future of the troubled brand.

Koenigsegg Group AB said yesterday it has decided to scrap the deal, which was announced in June. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed by GM.

The collapse of the Saab sale is the third GM deal to fall through this year for a variety of reasons.

GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson says the company is disappointed in the decision and will take the next several days to figure out what to do.

Heinz profit tumbles 16 percent

PORTLAND, Ore. » H.J. Heinz Co. says its business is thriving in emerging markets, but the recession continued to drag down its U.S. and European sales during the second quarter as shoppers limited spending or chose lower-priced products.

The food maker reported yesterday that its quarterly profit fell 16 percent from last year, when the company's results were boosted by currency shifts. But it boosted its full-year guidance, saying it will invest heavily in market to spur growth in its sluggish markets.

Heinz earned $231.4 million, or 73 cents a share, for the quarter, down from $276.7 million, or 87 cents a share, a year earlier.

The prior year's results included a gain of 18 cents per share related to currency hedging.

Revenue climbed 2.5 percent to $2.67 billion.

ON THE MOVE

Kuakini Health System has rehired Quin Ogawa as vice president of fiscal services and chief financial officer. He was previously at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Honolulu as well as a senior internal auditor, corporate auditor, accounting manager and controller at Kuakini Health System from 1996 to 2005.

Sharon Serene Creative has promoted Neazel Calaro to account executive from account coordinator and Reena Johnson to senior account executive from account executive.

Renee Rogers has teamed up with Carol and Briggs Christie of Christies by the Sea as a licensed Realtor. She has 21 years of licensed Realtor experience.

Aqua Hotels & Resorts has appointed Gary Rohanna to director of operations at the Waikiki office. He has 14 years' experience and was previously general manager of Loews Beverly Hills Hotel, and also worked at Loews Annapolis Hotel, Loews Coronado Bay Resort, the Metropolitan Hotel, Loews' flagship and the Regency in New York City.

RevoluSun has hired Marcus Jones as a partner in development and operations. He has a decade of experience in planning and execution of multibillion-dollar programs.

This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Ericsson hires 900 Canadian Nortel workers - IT World

Posted: 25 Nov 2009 06:38 AM PST

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson has completed the final step in acquiring Nortel Networks Corp.'s carrier wireless assets for US$1.13 billion and has hired more workers than it originally promised to in Canada.

The Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer announced Friday the transaction, which will give Ericsson Nortel's Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular base station business in North America and Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless technology, has closed.

As of Friday, about 900 Nortel workers are joining Ericsson Canada. About 1,600 additional Nortel employees are now working for Ericsson in the U.S.

The deal resulted from Ericsson winning an auction last summer, which prompted a backlash from politicians -- including Ontario Liberal Finance Minister Dwight Duncan - who claimed Ericsson would move jobs offshore. It was also opposed by the Canadian BlackBerry maker, Research in Motion Inc., which earlier wanted to buy Nortel's Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless patents.

The other two bidders were Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and MatlinPatterson, a New York buyer of distressed companies. No Canadian firms placed bids.

Toronto-based Nortel, which has lost money nearly every year since 1998,filed for protection from creditors in bankruptcy courts last January. In June Nortel said it plans to sell "substantially all" its business assets, after NSN offered to buy the assets that are now in Ericsson's hands for US$650 million.

Ericsson already has a research centre in Montreal, Canada, which includes a customer support centre for customers worldwide. With the Nortel buy, Ericsson will inherit contracts with Vancouver-based Telus Corp., Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp., United States Cellular Corp. and Leap Wireless International Inc.

During testimony before the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology in August, Ericsson Canada president Mark Henderson said his firm has 1,900 employees in Canada, including 1,500 in Montreal.

At the time, it planned to offer jobs to 800 Nortel employees in Canada, about 550 of whom would work in the nation's capital city of Ottawa. This was the number Henderson gave during his testimony in August, in a reply to a question from committee member Robert Bouchard, a Member of Parliament for the separatist Bloc Quebecois party.

This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

German business optimism rises again in November - Associated Press

Posted: 25 Nov 2009 03:32 AM PST

FRANKFURT (AP) -- German business confidence rose for an eighth consecutive month in November as Europe's biggest economy recovered steadily from its worst recession in decades, a leading survey showed Tuesday.

The Ifo business climate index rose to 93.9 points in November from 92 points the month before, beating analysts' expectations.

"The firms are again not quite so dissatisfied with their current business situation," Ifo president Hans-Werner Sinn said in a statement. "Also, their view of the business outlook in the coming six months is more favorable than in October."

The Munich-based group said the climate for industry and trade clearly improved in November, while manufacturing, wholesale and retail also both posted improvements in their current business expectations readings. However, the construction industry saw a decline in sentiment.

"The Ifo business climate index rose stronger than expected," Alexander Koch, a UniCredit economist, said in a research note. Experts had predicted a rise to 92.5, while UniCredit was looking for a 92.8 reading, Koch said.

"Business expectations and new orders continue to point clearly north, arguing against an abrupt end of the current solid economic rebound, which started from very depressed levels."

Koch said that while he doesn't see much room for a further acceleration in growth, "the momentum in the inventory cycle and the improvement of global trade provide enough tail wind for the coming months."

The Ifo index is based around 7,000 monthly survey responses from firms in manufacturing, construction, wholesaling and retailing.

They assessed their current situation in November better than the previous month, with the index rising to 89.1 from 87.4. Expectations for the next six months rose to 98.9 from 96.8.

Sinn said manufacturers were more positive about their export opportunities and that they are less inclined to cut staff than before.

Retailers appraised their current business environment "somewhat more favorably," Sinn said, while the wholesaling business situation was largely unchanged in November.

In construction, "although the firms have assessed their current business situation similarly as in October, they have expressed much more reserve regarding their business outlook," Sinn said. That led to an overall drop in the business climate index reading.

Separately Tuesday, the Federal Statistical Office confirmed German gross domestic product rose 0.7 percent in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter - the second rise in a row. Economic output rose 0.4 percent in the second quarter, when Germany technically emerged from recession.

"Overall, the steady improvement of leading indicators such as Ifo and purchasing managers' indexes that began around March suggests that the current economic recovery is reasonably underpinned," said IHS Global Economist Timo Klein.

---

On the Net:

http://www.ifo.de

http:.//http://www.destatis.de

Business

Wednesday, November 25, 2009