Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Thursday, August 7, 1997

Knife River sole owner
of Hawaiian Cement

Knife River Corp. is now the sole owner of Hawaiian Cement Co. after acquiring Adelaide Brighton Ltd. of Australia's 50 percent interest in the local building materials company.

Knife River, a unit of North Dakota-based MDU Resources Group Inc., has said that it plans to close its 200-employee cement factory at Barbers Point within the next two years.

Knife River acquired a 50 percent interest in Hawaiian Cement in 1995. Last year, Hawaiian Cement had revenues of $70 million.

WorkHawaii opening
office on North Shore

WorkHawaii is opening a Waialua office for North Shore residents who have lost jobs or meet low income standards.

The office initially will be located at the Waialua Sugar Co. annex building until a permanent location is found, said Nancy Olipares, WorkHawaii strategic marketing manager. The office is open 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and offers classroom training and other help in getting a job.

WorkHawaii also has offices in Honolulu and Waianae.

Thirty-year mortgage rates
rose slightly this week

WASHINGTON -- Thirty-year fixed-rate home mortgage rates rose this week amid fresh signs the U.S. economy continues to grow at a moderate pace, Freddie Mac said today.

The average rate reached 7.46 percent, up from 7.36 percent last week, according to the mortgage giant, formally known as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

Freddie Mac also reported that the average adjustable mortgage rate rose to 5.53 percent from 5.49 percent a week earlier. Fifteen-year mortgage rates averaged 7.00 percent, up from 6.90 percent.

GTE plans to buy back
20 million more shares

STAMFORD, Conn. -- GTE Corp. said today it will buy back an additional 20 million of its shares.

GTE, parent of GTE Hawaiian Tel, said the buyback follows a 25-million-share repurchase program it started in August 1996, under which 6 million shares remain.

The telecommunications company, based in Stamford, Conn., said the repurchased shares will be used in its employee benefit and dividend-reinvestment programs and for general purposes.

The buyback will also increase earnings per share by reducing the number of shares outstanding. GTE has about 954.9 million shares outstanding.

Negotiations resume
in 4-day UPS strike

WASHINGTON -- United Parcel Service and Teamsters' union officials were scheduled to return to the bargaining table later today in an effort to end the four-day-old strike against UPS.

Both sides downplayed expectations for the meeting, and neither side said it was budging from its position.

The company and the union yesterday agreed to resume talks at the request of federal mediator John Calhoun Wells.

Since the strike began on Monday, Atlanta-based UPS has lost 90 percent of its business, as shippers have sought alternate methods of getting their goods to customers.