Kailua resident Nohea Tano, a former Rainbow Wahine volleyball player, will open a Bee & Tea franchise in Kailua today.
Bee & Tea is a California-based boba tea shop specializing in honey-tapioca boba tea as well as mini-bao sandwiches.
The shop, at 131 Hekili St., will have an official blessing at 11 a.m. and will open to the public serving smoothies, acai bowls, milkshakes, its boba tea and kalua pork bao sandwiches, among other items.
“I’m so excited to be able to bring the first Bee & Tea to Hawaii,” Tano said in a statement. “This will mark only the third location of the franchise and first in Hawaii.”
Verizon viewed as likely to acquire Yahoo
The end of Yahoo as an independent company might be near, and Verizon — long considered the leading contender to buy the aging web pioneer — is the most likely acquirer.
The two companies are in advanced talks over a takeover of Yahoo that could be worth close to $5 billion, a person briefed on the matter said Friday.
Any transaction would be for Yahoo’s core internet business, although it is unclear whether a deal would also include other assets like real estate or patents.
Both companies are hoping to announce a deal as early as next week, the person said. Verizon is scheduled to report earnings Tuesday.
Volkswagen emissions cheat fix is ready
DETROIT >> Volkswagen’s plan to fix most of its 2-liter diesel engines that cheat on emissions tests includes a computer software update and a larger catalytic converter to trap harmful nitrogen oxide, and it might not hurt mileage or performance, according to dealers who were briefed by executives on the matter.
Limited details of the plan were made public last week at a regional dealer meeting in Newark, N.J., by Volkswagen of America Chief Operating Officer Mark McNabb, said two dealers who asked not to be identified because the plan hasn’t been made public.
One dealer said the group was told that early testing of a small sample of repaired cars showed that the fix made “no discernible difference” in the cars’ mileage, horsepower or torque. Both dealers said they were told that more testing was needed and that the plans still had to be approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board.
Problems loom for post-Ailes Fox News
NEW YORK >> Roger Ailes built the Fox News Channel into a ratings juggernaut, one that successfully presented a conservative alternative to mainstream news and garnered a large new audience in the Age of Trump.
But you don’t have to look too far down the road to see big challenges that have nothing to do with Ailes’ untimely departure.
While Fox has been the top-rated U.S. cable-news channel for 14 years, overall cable news audiences have been shrinking outside of presidential elections. More than half of Fox’s viewers are over 65, says data tracker Nielsen, compared with just 15 percent of Americans as a whole.
IMF head urges quick end to Brexit doubts
BEIJING >> The head of the International Monetary Fund called Friday for quick action to end uncertainty over Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, which she said is dampening global economic growth.
The IMF cut this year’s global growth forecast by 0.1 percentage point to 3.1 percent in a report released this week due to the shock waves from the British vote.
Investors are watching this weekend’s meeting of the G20 and finance officials for any sign the United States, Germany, China and other major economies might agree on joint action to accelerate a weak global economic recovery.
U.S. home rental costs match wage gains
WASHINGTON >> U.S. renters are seeing their housing costs rise at a much more manageable pace, as new construction has tempered years of runaway increases in rent.
Real estate data firm Zillow says that median rent rose a seasonally adjusted 2.6 percent in June from a year ago, matching the gains in average hourly wages. Rental costs have decelerated after consistently exceeding earnings growth in previous years, a sign that additional building is giving more options.
On the Move
Central Pacific Bank has promoted Dayna Matsumoto to senior vice president and controller. Her responsibilities include overseeing all aspects of financial management, accounting and reporting, as well as developing financial forecasts, corporate strategies and tax compliance. Prior to joining CPB, Matsumoto served as a senior associate at KPMG.
Anthology Marketing Group has promoted Jackie Smythe to executive vice president of Public Relations Group. Smythe joined the company in 2013 as vice president of account management and served clients in the firm’s Advertising Group. Prior to joining Anthology, Smythe operated her own marketing consultancy company for seven years and held a senior vice president position at another public relations firm for seven years.
The Honolulu Community Action Program announced that Jocelyn Banks was promoted to director of human resources. She will be responsible for all of HCAP’s human resources activities. Banks previously served as interim director of human resources and a human resources generalist.