Honolulu Star-Bulletin from Honolulu, Hawaii • 21

Saturday, September 2007 '4 1 A I BUSINESS EDITOR KenAndrade kandradestarbulletin.com LJ Li 11 SECTION I rann i i I 1 L-sJ XjsoaX" tanai KHNL-TV loses last sportscaster 7 years here," he said. He had been a KHON Intern under Sports Director Bob Hogue in 1998. "I'm grateful to Bob, too, he gave me my direction." Shimizu has been shooting and editing his KHNL stories for about a year. Traditionally in Honolulu, a TV reporter has gone out on stories with a news photographer, but stations are increasingly looking for video-journalists, reporters who also shoot and edit. Such so-called "one-man-bands" have been common at small-market stations with small staffs.

Reid Shimizu says he will resign Sept. 14 for ajobatKHON-TV ByErikaEngle erikastarbulletin.com KHNL-TV needs a sports department. Weekend sports anchor Reid Shimizu has tendered his resignation effective Sept. 14, for a news photographer job at KHON-TV. He was the second and only remaining KHNL sports anchor to announce his departure in August.

The station dropped its newscast sports block in late April. Sports anchor Russell Ya-manoha left Aug. 17 for his other job as a Realtor Associate with Prudential Locations LLC. KHNL's sports losses are notable as sister station KFVE is the official station for University of Hawaii athletics. When Yamanoha left, KHNL News Director Dan Dennison said KHNL would seek a replacement.

A replacement will also be sought for Shimizu, said John Fink, vice president and general manager. "We wish him the best as we continue to reconstruct our sports department." Shimizu's announcement follows KHON's promotion of weekend news anchor Jai Cunningham to the 5 p.m. weekday newscast, leaving a weekend vacancy, but Shimizu was not hired for an on-camera position, said News Director Lori Silva. "We're talking to several people," said Joe McNamara, president and general manager. Shimizu will work in production, "in the beginning," and will add depth to the station's bench.

Shimizu joined KHNL in 2000 as an engineer and worked his way up to weekend sports anchor in 2003. "I've had a good MARKETS IN REVIEW For the week of Aug. 27-31 WORLD Sharp to ship LCD screen scanner TOKYO Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp. plans to start snipping a new touchscreen liquid crystal display with scanner functions for mobile electronic devices this September, the company said yesterday. Osaka-based Sharp, known for its Aquos brand of LCD TVs, said in a statement that the new screen will be thinner and offer clearer, higher quality images than existing touchscreen displays.

The screen can respond to more than one touch at a "time, allowing users to perform tasks by making tapping, pinching and squeezing motions with their fingers, Sharp said. Trie product's thinness comes from the use of embedded optical sensors like a scanner, it said. Documents like business cards can be scanned when placed on top of the screen. Hyundai union votes for strike SEOUL Hyundai Motor Co. said today its labor union has voted in favor of going on strike amid annual wage negotiations.

According to an e-mail from the automaker, 28,243 union members voted in favor of the strike, while 12544 opposed it. It was not immediately clear, however, when a walkout might begin. Strikes at Hyundai are common. Workers have already walked off the job twice this year. The union has gone on strike every year but one since it was founded in 1987.

According to the Hyundai e-mail, 40,995 union members, or 91.4 percent of the total membership of 44,867, cast ballots. WTO to look into China subsidies GENEVA The World Trade Organization opened a formal investigation today into allegations by the U.S. and Mexico that China is providing illegal subsidies for a range of industries. The two countries accuse Beijing of using WTO-prohibited tax breaks to encourage Chinese companies to boost exports, while imposing tax and tariff penalties to limit purchases of foreign products in China. Beijing blocked a separate probe of its rules for protecting intellectual property rights.

But the move will probably only delay the creation of a panel until the next meeting of the WTO's dispute body in September, when Washington can bring up the Issue again. Vivendi earnings drop 49 percent PARIS Entertainment and telecom conglomerate Vivendi SA reported yesterday that its second-quarter earnings dropped 49 percent from a year earlier, when it had a gain from an asset sale, and said it is sticking to its forecast for the full year. Net profit at the French company fell to 594 million euros ($810 million) from 1.15 billion euros a year earlier. Last year's figure was inflated by the gains on the sale of Vivendi's shares in chemicals company DuPont Co. for nearly $700 million (512 million euros).

Paris-based Vivendi is the owner of Universal Music Group, the world's biggest music company, Canal Plus television, Vivendi Games and telecom operators SFR and Maroc Telecom. Jt SILVER i CRUDE $12,075 $74.04 12.95 .1.26 4.15 im RUSSELL 2000 NIKKEI 792.86 16,569.09 .320.12 0.76 .1.97 HAN6 SENS 23,984.14 1,062.25 .4.63 VYEH 115.77 0.68 60LD $673.00 J5.00 .0.75 THIS WEEK BLOOMBERG HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN INDEX, 12-MONTH CHART i rr i i i i 'i i i -i. i 400 i 318.0 'LI LL.LJi.l.: i VT 316.0 314.0 312.0 310.0 'ty 300 '280 260 A A A Yesterday's close: 316.32 Week's gainloss: Percent gainloss: HOKU SCIENTIFIC HOKU (Nasdaq) STOCK WATCH How the II companies that make up the index performed over the last week: GainLoss: 8.34 Yesterday's close: $9.09 1 MAUI LAND PINEAPPLE MLP (AMEX) GainLoss: 2.47 Yesterday's close: $29.05 ALEXANDER BALDWIN ALEX (Nasdaq) CENTRAL PACIFIC FINANCIAL CPF(NYSE) GainLoss: Yesterday's close: $31.82 CYANQTECH 'f CYAN (Nasdaq SmallCap) GainLoss: Yesterday's close: $1,030 HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC HE (NYSE) CainLoss: Yesterday's close: $20.97 MERA PHARMACEUTICALS MRPl(OTCBB) GainLoss: 0.48 Yesterday's close: $51.91 BANK OF HAWAII BOH (NYSE) GainLoss: Yesterday's close: $51 .41 BARNWELL INDUSTRIES BRN (AMEX) GainLoss: Yesterday's close: $17.70 GainLoss: 6.67 Yesterday's close: $0,008 i ML MACADAMIA ORCHARDS NUT (NYSE) GainLoss: Yesterday's close: $4.86 J- HAWAIIAN HOLDINGS HA (AMEX) GainLoss: 1.67 Yesterday's close: $3.65 The Bloomberg Honolulu Star-Bulletin Index is a price-weighted Index designed to measure the performance of Hawali-oased companies. The index was developed with a base value of 100 as of December 31, 1999. New cars will set mileage records A government study shows that 2007 vehicles boost gas mileage levels By Ken Thomas Associated Press WASHINGTON New vehicles are expected to set new records for average gas mileage in 2007, driven by improved technology and demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, the government reported.

Vehicles from the 2007 model year are projected to average 26.4 miles per gallon overall, a gain of 1 mpg over the previous year and above the previous record of 26.2 mpg in 1987. The increases are attributed to higher demand for hybrids and more fuel-efficient vehicles with gas prices hovering around $3 for much of the year. Sales of hybrid vehicles and small cars are expected to set new sales records this year despite a sluggish U.S. auto market. Sales of pickup trucks and SUVs have largely declined due to high gasoline prices and the slump in homebuilding industry.

Honda Motor Co. was estimated to lead the way, averaging 39.9 mpg for its imported vehicles and 33.7 mpg for vehicles built in the United States. Toyota Motor Corp. is second with 38.5 mpg for imported vehicles and 31.7 mpg for cars and trucks produced in North America. The difference in mileage between continents comes from the different models.

The data was based on a U.S. Transportation Department analysis of sales estimates released earlier this month. The projections will be updated once automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration receive sales data for 2007 vehicles. 6 NATION THIS WEEK DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE, 12-MONTH CHART i i i 1.1.41 111 1 12,600 rJVV 12.200 i 7i ih 11,800 11,400 Yesterday's close: 13,357.74 Week's gainloss: Google 1600 Amphitheatre A Si A Percent gainloss: THIS WEEK STANDARD POOR'S 500, 12-MONTH CHART 1,340 (r (TW 1,280 A SO NDJFMAMJJA Yesterday's close: 1,473.99 Week's gainloss: Percent gainloss: THIS WEEK NASDAQ, 12-MONTH CHART fSi 2.580 L. aayJ 2.400 2,520 i ''2200 BLOOMBERG NEWS NEWS HOST: Google Inc.

yesterday began hosting news content from four media providers Instead of sending readers to other destinations for information. Above, a sign at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, in July. C3 BRIEFCASE Modest proposals. President Bush announces a set of modest proposals to deal with an alarming rise in mortgage defaults that have contributed to turbulent financial markets over recent weeks. Lower price.

Privatequity firm Lone Star Fund LP wants to pay a lower price for mortgage company Accredited Home Lenders Holding the latest in a string of buyouts that are in trouble or being renegotiated. Inflation steady. Inflation in the 13 countries that use the euro currency should stay at 1.8 percent in August, the European Union's statistical agency said in a first estimate, a week before the European Central Bank decides whether to raise interest rates. Curbing fraud. Civil servants in Liberia will soon be 1 required to take biometric scans, a move designed to curb fraud so rife that the government found 7,000 fake names on its payrolls, officials said.

2,100 Yesterday's close: 2,596.36 2 000 Week's gainloss: 19.67 Percent gainloss: 0.76 A AM A STAR -BULLETIN Source: Bloomberg News MH Credit crunch puts brakes on vehicle sales Star-Bulletin news services 0 OUT OF WORK weekly number of people filing unemployment benefits, with the percentage change from year-earlier weeks: patterns, show that almost 19 percent of potential buyers are abandoning or postponing their plans to purchase a new vehicle this year double the percentage in 2006. The number one reason they cite: worries about home values. Of those who are still interested in buying a car, some are finding it more difficult to obtain credit or have to pay higher interest rates on their car loans. Many are turning to auto dealers for help. "They come in asking, 'Can you beat 7 said Matt Thompson, general sales manager at Watertown Ford, referring a typical rate offered by credit unions and banks.

Not so long ago, he said, interest rates as low as 4.9 percent were common, and customers expected Thompson to go even lower through a manufacturer-based loan program. But since problems in the subprime mortgage loan market surfaced this year, "It's pretty rare that someone comes in off the street" who is holding an offer for a loan under 7 percent, Thompson said. cause of the credit crisis and decreased borrowing power due to declining home values is now sending tremors through the automotive industry. As a result, The National Automobile Dealers Association this month lowered Its sales projections for 2007 from 16.5 million to 16.1 million. Many industry analysts have downgraded their sales expectations even more.

The link between housing and auto sales is strong. Recent studies conducted by CNW Marketing Research, an Oregon-based company that follows car buying Sales projections have been lowered for the year by 2.4 percent By Royal Ford BostonGlobe The National Automobile Dealers Association has lowered its sales projections for 2007 by 2.4 percent. The slumping housing industry, already hitting Americans hard In two areas escalating adjustable-rate mortgages be WEEK ENDING RUNGS Pa. CHANGE .1,154 ..887 .1,086 .1,130 .1,062 15.1 15.6 8.4 4.1 11.3 Aug. 25 Aug.

18 Aug. 11 Aug. 4 July 28. Sourct: Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism I.