BUSINESS BRIEFS
Honolulu debt rating upgraded
Advertiser Staff
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its rating on the City and County of Honolulu's general obligation debt one notch to AA from AA-.
The ratings agency said the higher designation reflects strengthened financial reserve policies, strong financial performance and increases in taxable property values. The improved rating could translate into lower borrowing costs for the city.
LOCAL AIRLINES TOP 2 FOR ON TIME
Hawaiian and Aloha airlines ranked as the top two U.S. carriers in terms of on-time arrivals in October, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Air Travel Consumer Report.
The report showed 91.6 percent of Hawaiian's flights arrived on time, while 91.4 percent of Aloha's did.
Hawaiian also had the fewest number of consumer complaints during the month. The report said the Honolulu-based carrier had 0.19 complaints per 100,000 passengers. Aloha ranked fifth in that category with 0.35 complaints per 100,000 passengers.
SALE OF 1 MILLION ZUNES SEEN BY MID-'07
SEATTLE — Microsoft Corp. said yesterday that it expects to sell 1 million of its new Zune music players through the first half of 2007.
That figure would pale in comparison to Apple Computer Inc.'s market-leading iPod, but Microsoft contends it would be a good start.
HOME DEPOT OPTIONS IN ERROR
ATLANTA — Home Depot Inc. said yesterday an internal investigation of the company's stock-option practices has concluded that errors caused it to have roughly $200 million in unrecorded option expenses over a 26-year period.
Despite the errors, the review, conducted with the help of outside counsel, determined that there was no intentional wrongdoing by any current member of the company.
