HECO seeks bids to provide cleaner fuels

Hawaiian Electric Co. is seeking suppliers to provide up to 150,000 barrels of "cleaner" fuels per year to be burned for electricity generation by its subsidiaries in Maui and Hawaii counties.

The types of fuel can include ultra-low-sulfur diesel, biodiesel or biodiesel blends, according to the request for proposals issued by HECO. The fuel supply contract is for a term of up to three years beginning Jan. 1, 2015.

Any biodiesel offered for sale to HECO would have to be priced competitively with ultra-low-sulfur diesel, according to the RFP.

Any fuel contract HECO enters into will have to be approved by the state Public Utilities Commission. The deadline to submit bids is Oct. 15.

Prospective bidders can obtain more information at www.hawaiianelectric.com/fuels.

Isle exports revenue hit $828M last year

International trade supported 192,000 jobs in Hawaii and generated $828 million in goods exports in 2012, according to a report by the Business Roundtable.

"With 95 percent of the world’s population outside of the United States, and more than 1 in 5 American jobs supported by trade, U.S. international trade and investment agreements have a major role to play in maximizing economic growth in Hawaii and all 50 states," said Business Roundtable President John Engler.

The report, based on an analysis of government data, concluded that Hawaii’s trade-related employment grew more than three times faster than total employment from 2004 to 2011.

In addition, the report found that Hawaii’s goods exports have grown 3 1⁄2 times faster than state gross domestic product since 2002. The report also estimated that 89 percent of Hawaii exporters are small- and medium-sized companies with fewer than 500 workers.

Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with $7.4 trillion in annual revenue and more than 16 million employees.

Verizon will buy out Vodafone for $130B

NEW YORK » Verizon will own its wireless business outright after agreeing Monday to pay $130 billion for the 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless owned by British cellphone carrier Vodafone.

The buyout, the second-largest acquisition deal on record, would give Vodafone PLC additional cash to pursue its expansion ambitions in Europe. Those ambitions include its push to buy up other cellphone providers and to expand into the lucrative world of mobile services.

The deal would give Verizon Communications Inc. an opportunity to boost its quarterly earnings, as it would no longer have to share a portion of proceeds from the nation’s No. 1 wireless carrier with Vodafone.

CBS back on the air after Time Warner tiff

TV network CBS and cable provider Time Warner Cable have ended their monthlong dispute and resumed broadcast programming in millions of homes in New York, Dallas and Los Angeles.

The agreement ends a blackout of CBS and CBS-owned channels that include Showtime Networks, CBS Sports Network and the Smithsonian channel. The contract disagreement started Aug. 2 and affected more than 3 million homes. Broadcasting resumed Monday evening on the East Coast.

The companies were in dispute over how much Time Warner Cable Inc. would pay for CBS Corp. programming.

Airline-merger trial to start in November

WASHINGTON >> A federal judge said Friday that the government’s lawsuit to block the proposed merger of American Airlines and US Airways will start Nov. 25, a timetable favored by the airlines. The Justice Department wanted the trial to start in March, saying it needed more time to prepare for the case. The airlines said that such a long delay would threaten their merger.

On the Move

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii has announced its new physician specialists: 

>> Dr. Eugene Lam is a specialist in gastroenterology at Kaiser Permanente’s Wailuku Clinic.

>> Dr. Healani McConnell is a specialist in obstetrics/gynecology at its Wailuku Clinic.

>> Dr. Laura Hassen is a specialist in pediatrics and will be practicing at Kaiser’s Maui Lani Clinic in Wailuku.