Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Friday, May 8, 1998
Isle real estate rebound linked to lower rates
The rebound in the Hawaii real estate market is directly related to lower mortgage interest rates, according to research by Prudential Locations Inc.The recent decline in interest rates to about 7 percent was accompanied by an increase of about 30 percent in the resales of existing isle homes, Mike Sklarz, research director, said today.
First-quarter resales of single-family homes were up 31.5 percent on Oahu from the first quarter 1997, 34 percent on Maui, 19 percent on the Big Island and 63.9 percent on Kauai, Sklarz said. Condominium resales were up 26.1 percent on Oahu, 19.3 percent on Maui and 63 percent on Kauai but down 6.5 percent on the Big Island, he said.
Japan Airlines drops price on Honolulu fares
Japan Airlines today announced "Super Sale" fares to promote travel to Japan from a number of U.S. cities, including Honolulu. Fares are good for several cities, including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Sapporo.The new Honolulu-Japan, round-trip fare is $760 Mondays through Thursdays, $840 at weekends. The previous lowest listed weekday fare for Tokyo-Honolulu flights was $950, JAL said.
The sale tickets must be purchased by May 22, travel must be completed by the end of July, and there are other conditions.
Hilton still searching for deals, CEO says
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. Hilton Hotels Corp. is still interested in potential mergers despite two recently failed deals, Chief Executive Steve Bollenbach said, but he did not name any likely candidates."Part of our business is to take some well-considered, well-thought-out risks," he told shareholders yesterday at the hotel and casino company's annual meeting in Beverly Hills, Calif. "We do not have anybody in mind," he added.
Two highly publicized deals have recently fallen apart for Hilton. Last year, it lost the takeover battle for ITT Corp. to Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which bought the owner of the Sheraton hotels and Caesars casinos for $10.2 billion. In March, talks for a $2.8 billion merger with Circus Circus Enterprises Inc. fell apart.
Report: Feds to file suit on Microsoft within days
WASHINGTON The Justice Department is tightening the noose on Microsoft Corp., the Wall Street Journal reported today.Within days, barring a last-gasp settlement, Joel Klein, chief of the Justice Department's antitrust division, is expected to file a historic antitrust action against the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant, the Journal reported, citing sources close to the case.
The department is expected to allege that Microsoft engaged in a pattern of predatory conduct to protect its Windows personal-computer operating system's dominant market position and to extend that dominance to Internet software. Department lawyers are putting the finishing touches on the lawsuit and haven't made a final decision on their legal tactics such as whether to seek a potentially market-jarring injunction that might delay the introduction of Windows 98.
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
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