BUSINESS BRIEFS
Hawaiian exec Davies retires
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Hawaiian Holdings Inc. has announced the retirement of H. Norman Davies Jr., executive vice president of operations for Hawaiian Airlines.
His retirement was effective June 30, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Davies had held the position since March 2002.
JOBLESS RATE STEADY AT 4.5%
WASHINGTON — Employers added 132,000 jobs, paychecks grew solidly and the unemployment rate stayed at a low 4.5 percent in June, fresh evidence that the once listless economy is regaining energy.
The new snapshot of conditions across the country, released by the Labor Department yesterday, showed that companies have a decent appetite to hire and that there are opportunities for job seekers willing to pursue the hunt. For the national economy, the modest pace of hiring is consistent with business activity that is picking up speed, but not too much, and suggests consumers will have the financial wherewithal to withstand the sting of high gasoline prices. All that bodes well for the country's economic health.
BURGER KING SWITCHING OILS
MIAMI — Burger King said yesterday it will use trans-fat-free cooking oil at all its U.S. restaurants by the end of next year, following in the footsteps of other leading fast-food restaurants.
The world's second largest hamburger chain said it was already using zero trans-fat oil in hundreds of its more than 7,100 U.S. restaurants nationwide.
CHICAGO MERC UPS OFFER FOR BOARD
CHICAGO — The Chicago Mercantile Exchange's parent company moved closer yesterday to winning its nine-month campaign to acquire the Chicago Board of Trade, sweetening its offer by 7 percent and winning over the largest shareholder just three days before the vote.
The move pushed the bid by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. over $11 billion, up from the $8 billion initially proposed last October amid rising stock prices that have helped escalate the deal's value.
It's the third time the world's largest futures and options exchange has raised its offer to fend off IntercontinentalExchange Inc., which jumped into the bidding unasked in March.
TAIWAN CONSIDERS FORGIVING DEBTS
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan is considering writing off or reducing the debts it is owed by some of its most impoverished diplomatic allies, an official said today, as the island seeks to strengthen its diplomatic position in Africa and Latin America.
"Forgiving foreign debts is an international trend," said Roy Wu, a Foreign Ministry spokesman. "A few of our allies are suffering from poor economic development, and we ought to reach out to them."
He would not name the countries that could be included in the plan, or to confirm media reports that President Chen Shui-bian might announce the plan when he visits Taiwan's Central American allies next month.
