Consumer borrowing up $18.2B in October
WASHINGTON » Americans boosted their borrowing in October, led by another big increase in auto and student loans and the biggest rise in credit card debt in five months.
Consumers increased their borrowing by $18.2 billion in October to a seasonally adjusted $3.08 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Friday. That is a record level and follows a September increase of $16.3 billion.
The increase was led by a $13.9 billion rise in borrowing for auto loans and student loans. Borrowing in the category that covers credit cards rose by $4.3 billion following a decline of $218 million in September.
Maui Land ends purchase agreement
Maui Land & Pineapple Co. has terminated an agreement to purchase a spa, beach club, sundry store and other amenities from Kapalua Bay Holdings, which constructed a residential and time-share development on land that it owned at the site of the former Kapalua Bay Hotel.
Maui Land, which has a 51 percent ownership interest in Kapalua Bay, said it did not have sufficient liquidity to purchase the amenities at the actual construction cost of about $35 million.
Bankoh donates $100,000 to Philippines
Bank of Hawaii Foundation has donated $100,000 to Aloha for Philippines with $50,000 designated for the Filipino Community Center and its partner the Consuelo Foundation. The other $50,000 will go to the American Red Cross.
The $50,000 donation to the FilCom Center is being matched by the Consuelo Foundation as part of Consuelo Foundations pledge to match contributions up to $2 million. The Consuelo Foundation has operations in Honolulu and the Philippines.
Sears to spin off Lands’ End in stock deal
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. » Sears Holdings Corp. said Friday that it will spin off its Lands’ End clothing business as a separate company by distributing stock to the retailer’s shareholders. It’s the latest move by the struggling retailer to turn around its results as it faces wider losses and increasingly displeased investors.
Sears had said in October that it was considering separating the Lands’ End and Sears Auto Center businesses from the rest of the company. It did not mention Sears Auto Center in Friday’s announcement.
Belus Capital Advisors analyst Brian Sozzi said the move shows Sears was unable to get a buyer at the right price for Lands’ End and may raise questions about how much other well-known brand names Sears owns, like Craftsman, are worth.
"It makes you question the value of what Sears is sitting on," he said. "It may have to continue dismembering itself to stay alive today and shrink from inside out."
Sears has spun off other businesses over the past two years, including its Hometown and Sears Outlet stores and its Orchard Supply Hardware Stores, to raise cash.
Sears Chairman and CEO Edward Lampert said recently that his stake in the company has been reduced to less than 50 percent as investors pulled money out of his hedge fund. Sears and the company’s Kmart chain have struggled as rivals have lured away customers over the years.
Last year, Sears announced plans to restore profitability by cutting costs, reducing inventory, selling off some assets and spinning off others. Those moves helped it reduce net debt by $400 million and generated $1.8 billion in cash from the asset sales in the latest fiscal year.
Consumer spending up 0.3% in October
WASHINGTON » U.S. consumers increased their spending in October even though their wages and salaries barely increased, raising questions about how strong the economy will grow at the end of the year.
Consumer spending increased 0.3 percent in October compared with September when spending rose 0.2 percent, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Wages and salaries rose a slight 0.1 percent after a much stronger 1 percent rise in September.
ON THE MOVE
McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii has hired the following employees:
» Suzy Rehfeldt as Hawaii’s regional training lead. She was previously at McDonald’s Hamburger University in Oakbrook, Ill., where she had been a professor in the development of McDonald’s managers as well as a coach/mentor for new training consultants.
» Cindy Fujioka as human resources specialist. She had been a human resources director at Doubletree by Hilton Alana Waikiki since 1999.
