Kaiser union plans work stoppage, rally today

More than 300 Kaiser Permanente Hawaii union employees are planning to walk off the job today at clinics on Oahu to protest several initiatives being implemented by the state’s largest health maintenance organization.

A rally also is scheduled to be held from 7:45 to 9:30 a.m. today at Kaiser’s Moana­lua Medical Center, according to Unite Here Local 5.

Unite Here said it is demanding that Kaiser assign fair workloads so workers can do their jobs properly. The union also wants the health care provider to provide adequate staffing, hire more staff to allow workers to take vacations, and respect workers.

Workers on Maui also will be protesting in front of the Wailuku clinic.

Kaiser spokeswoman Laura Lott said the company has contacted everyone who has an appointment at one of the affected clinics and that they’ve been given a choice to reschedule their appointment to another clinic or reschedule their appointment for a different day.

"We’ve been negotiating with Local 5 for some time," Lott said. "We’re negotiating in good faith and would like to resolve things at the negotiating table."

Lahaina Grill makes OpenTable Top 100 list

Lahaina Grill at Maui’s Lahaina Inn is the only Hawaii restaurant among the OpenTable.com 2013 Diners’ Choice Award winners for the Top 100 American Fare Restaurants in the United States.

The online dining reservations and reviews site compiled opinions of more than 5 million reviews of about 19,000 restaurants submitted by site users.

Lahaina Grill was purchased by Jurg and Linda Munch in 1999 when it was known as David Paul’s Lahaina Grill.

The new owners licensed the name until on Dec. 1, 2007, it became simply Lahaina Grill.

Schnitzer to ring Nasdaq closing bell

The parent company of a Kapolei recycling operation will ring the Nasdaq closing bell in Times Square today.

Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. President & CEO Tamara Lundgren will ring the bell, according to a Nasdaq statement.

Portland, Ore.-based Schnitzer Steel is a large manufacturer and exporter of recycled ferrous metal products.

Schnitzer Steel Hawaii Corp., the Kapolei operation, is Honolulu’s largest recycler, processing more than 100,000 tons of metal annually from vehicles, appliances, and other large items.

Lowe’s boosts earnings, raises outlook

MOORESVILE, N.C. » Lowe’s third-quarter net income increased 26 percent and the home-improvement retailer on Wednesday raised its outlook for the year as it gets a lift from the housing market’s ongoing recovery.

Lowe’s Cos. earned $499 million, or 47 cents a share, for the period ended Nov. 1. That’s up from $396 million, or 35 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose 7 percent to $12.96 billion from $12.07 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key retail metric, rose 6.2 percent.

J.C. Penney’s losses keep mounting

NEW YORK » Even though J.C. Penney’s latest results show the beleaguered retailer is hardly out of the woods, investors still see reasons to cheer.

The department store chain’s shares rose 6 percent on Wednesday after it reported its seventh straight quarter of big losses that together total more than $2.4 billion. So why are investors celebrating?

The company began its big downward spiral during an ill-fated transformation strategy under former CEO Ron Johnson, who was fired in April after 17 months on the job.

Now, experts say investors are encouraged that Mike Ullman, who took the top job after having led the retailer for seven years before, is beginning to stabilize the business.

Penney lost $489 million, or $1.94 a share, in the three months that ended on Nov. 2. That compares with a loss of $123 million, or 56 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue at stores open at least a year fell 4.8 percent for the quarter compared with a year ago.

Japan central bank maintains money policy

TOKYO » Japan’s central bank has opted to keep its ultra-loose monetary policy in place and says the economy is on track for a "moderate recovery."

The Bank of Japan ended a two-day policy meeting without any moves to step up bond purchases aimed at pumping about ¥60 trillion to ¥70 trillion ($600 billion to $700 billion) a year into the world’s third-largest economy.

There had been some speculation that easing might be stepped up after the pace of economic growth fell by half to 1.9 percent in July-September.

ON THE MOVE

Island Air has promoted and hired the following individuals: 

» Cory Kohler to senior manager of schedule planning from manager.

» David Mark to senior manager of e-commerce and loyalty. He was previously a digital marketing manager at American Savings Bank.

» Manuel Cortes as senior manager of pricing and revenue management. He was previously an account manager at Booking.com.

Bank of Hawaii has announced two new vice presidents: 

» Kawika Fiddler has been promoted to vice president and commercial real estate loan officer in the commercial real estate loan division from assistant vice president.

» Robert Kurisu to vice president and commercial real estate credit underwriter in the commercial real estate loan division from assistant vice president. Tire industry group installs Brodie in its hall of fame

The late Lex Brodie and the tire company he built were separately honored recently by the Tire Industry Association in Las Vegas.

Brodie was posthumously inducted into the Tire Industry Association’s International Hall of Fame for his many accomplishments as an entrepreneur and his advocacy for small businesses in Hawaii.

His eponymously named company was a Top Shop Award Finalist, recognizing it as one of the top four tire shops in all of North America for the second time in five years.

The "Best of the Best" Top Shop Award is open to all tire and auto repair businesses in North America and is presented by Tire Review Magazine.

Servco Automotive chooses HPU graduate for marketing job

Servco Automotive has appointed Shelby Moriguchi as marketing assistant.

She will help plan and implement company marketing efforts, including advertising, public relations, promotions and events.

Moriguchi earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Hawaii Pacific University and is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools.

She most recently was a marketing and public affairs intern at Chevron.

Servco Automotive is a unit of privately held Servco Pacific Inc.