30-year mortgage rate stays at record 3.66 percent

WASHINGTON » The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage stayed this week at the lowest level on record. Cheap mortgages have helped drive a modest housing recovery and could give the broader economy a jolt at a time when the job market is weak.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average on the 30-year loan was 3.66 percent. That’s unchanged from last week and the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.

The average rate on the 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, slipped to 2.94 percent. That’s down from 2.95 percent last week and matches the record-low 2.94 percent reached three weeks ago.

The rate on the 30-year loan has been below 4 percent since December.

Central Pacific accepting school supplies

Central Pacific Bank will be collecting school supplies and monetary donations throughout July at its 34 branches statewide as part of the Ready to Learn program. Administered by Helping Hands Hawai’i, Ready to Learn provides more than 12,000 low-income Hawaii children each year with new classroom supplies at the start of the school year.

The school supplies and monetary donations collected at all Central Pacific Bank branches will remain on the respective islands. For more information, call 544-0500 or 800-342-8422, or visit www.centralpacificbank.com.

Japan’s May jobless rate improves to 4.4%

TOKYO » Japan’s unemployment rate improved to 4.4 percent in May amid a gradual recovery from the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters of a year ago.

The government’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released data today in Japan that showed jobless people totaled 2.97 million people in May, 170,000 fewer than the same month the previous year, to record year-on-year declines for two years straight.

The 4.4 percent unemployment rate declined 0.2 percentage points from April. Manufacturing, transportation, medical and welfare sectors all gained jobs.

Japan’s economy was battered by the disasters in the northeast, which destroyed coastlines, disrupted supply chains and displaced people in evacuations due to leaking radiation.

But some companies have bounced back. Japan still faces enormous challenges to compete in a rapidly globalizing economy.

RIM posts $518M loss, delays OS launch

TORONTO » BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. revealed Thursday that its business is crumbling ever faster.

The Canadian company posted worse results for its latest quarter than analysts had expected. It’s cutting 5,000 jobs and delaying the launch of its new phone operating system, BlackBerry 10, on which it’s pinning its hope for a comeback.

The first phone with BlackBerry 10 was expected later this year. It will now ship in the first quarter of next year, CEO Thorsten Heins said.

The job cuts are part of a previously announced initiative to cut $1 billion in annual costs this year. They represent about a quarter of RIM’s workforce.

RIM lost $518 million, or 99 cents a share, in its fiscal first quarter, which ended June 2. This compares with a profit of $695 million, or $1.33 per share, a year ago.

Revenue fell 43 percent to $2.8 billion.

RIM shares plunged $1.38, or 15 percent, to $7.75 in extended trading, after the release of the results. If they hold that level into regular trading today, they will set a new nine-year low.

Tepid growth weighs on U.S. job market

WASHINGTON » The U.S. economy is growing too slowly to pull the job market out of a slump, according to data that suggest June will be another weak month for hiring.

Applications for unemployment benefits stayed at levels generally considered too high to lower the unemployment rate. And the annual growth rate for the January-March quarter was unchanged at a tepid 1.9 percent.

The two government reports released Thursday added to the picture of an economy that is faltering for the third straight year after a promising start. Job growth has tumbled, consumers are less confident and Europe’s financial crisis has dampened demand for U.S. exports.

Most economists don’t see growth accelerating much from the first-quarter pace, although some are hopeful that lower gas prices could help lift consumer spending over the summer.

News Corp. OKs Murdoch plan to split firm

LOS ANGELES » Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. said Thursday that its board has approved a plan to split into two companies, one containing struggling newspaper and book publishing businesses and the other comprising faster-growing entertainment operations.

Murdoch will serve as chairman of both new companies and CEO of the entertainment company. The Murdoch family, which controls nearly 40 percent of the voting shares in News Corp., is expected to keep control of both companies.

The split of News Corp. is a symbolic turning point for Murdoch, 81.

Through the years, Murdoch maintained a fondness for newspapers even as he purchased entertainment companies and built a media conglomerate with a market value of $53 billion.

Murdoch is hoping the television and movie company will be more highly valued by shareholders who hadn’t been unwilling to accept the dour growth prospects of the newspaper and book business.

But first he must make the publishing division attractive to new investors.

ON THE MOVE

Joani Ahuna

Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has announced that Joani Ahuna has rejoined the firm’s Windward office. Prior to rejoining CBP, she served as a realtor-associate and mortgage officer at Pacific Realty Ventures.

The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living has chosen Connie Miller as a future leader in long-term care. She will join the association’s future leaders yearlong program, which offers training and guidance for long-term care professionals. Miller is the administrator at Hale Makua Wailuku, a 90-bed nursing home on Maui.

First Hawaiian Bank Foundation has awarded $150,000 to Hawaii Baptist Academy. The grant will be used to support the school’s capital campaign for the renovation of its Learning Resource Center and property acquisition project.

Tsukazaki & Associates has been named one of the top retirement plan adviser teams in the nation. The Hawaii firm was recognized in PLANADVISER magazine’s 2012 Top 100 Advisers and Adviser Teams for Retirement Plans in the United States.

The American Heart Association has announced that Alvin Imada has accepted the role of chair of the American Heart Association’s 2013 Maui Heart Walk. Imada is the senior vice president and neighbor island regional manager of Central Pacific Bank.