• NEWS & NOTES Investment seminar is coming After their financial-planning event in January, many of the Women in Business Roundtable (WIBR) guests expressed an interest in learning more about investing, a WIBR spokesperson said in a press release. In
• NEWS & NOTES
Investment seminar is coming
- After their financial-planning event in January, many of the Women in Business Roundtable (WIBR) guests expressed an interest in learning more about investing, a WIBR spokesperson said in a press release. In response to that interest, WIBR organizers have gathered a panel of professionals to share their expertise regarding how to invest, where to begin, financial instruments, how to build a portfolio, and more.
The next WIBR quarterly event is April 19, and speakers include Ruben Rea, investment representative, Edward Jones; Darren Schneck, financial advisor (retirement planning specialist), Morgan Stanley; and Tom Lodico, investment advisor, American Express.
These professionals will share strategic information on investment options, and provide advice on how aggressive or conservative people should be when investing.
Topics to be covered include women and retirement: 401-Ks, IRAs, Roth IRAs; stocks and bonds and how their values are set; the wide variety of mutual funds; the trade exchanges; and why women need brokers.
Attendees are encouraged to bring questions with them so the panel members can address their specific concerns in the time allowed. “We are thrilled that many of the event attendees took the time to complete the survey and provide their feedback after our last event,” explained Lisa Wilson, WIBR committee chair. “It helps us do a better job in planning future events that meet their needs.”
The April 19 event will take place at the Hukilau Lanai Restaurant in the Kauai Coast Resort at the Beachboy, in Waipouli. Registration and networking are from 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Pupus and the presentation run from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The cost is $18 per person in advance (before April 15) or $20 per person at the door (includes pupus). There will be a no-host bar.
Space is limited, so participants are encouraged to register before April 15 (no refunds or cancellations after April 12). To make a reservation, those interested may: mail check payable to WIBR to WIBR Committee, c/o Lisa Wilson, 4923 Ali Ali Rd., Kapa’a, HI 96746; fax name, company name, phone number and e-mail address to 826-4704 along with total number in the party; or e-mail lwilson@globalmortgagepartners.com.
Those who reserve via fax or e-mail will need to send in their payment before the April 15 deadline in order to receive the $18 advance rate.
The Women in Business Roundtable began four years ago, designed to be a flexible, informal organization that brings business women together to network, support and mentor one another. There are no membership fees. Those interested in getting involved on the WIBR planning committee should contact WIBR chair Lisa Wilson at 346-0957.
Hawaiian Airlines results reported
- Officials at Hawaiian Airlines in a press release reported increases in operating revenue for the fourth quarter and full-year 2005, but a net loss of $19.5 million for the fourth quarter, and a net loss of $12.4 million for the year, mostly due to an unusually high provision for income taxes. Increased competition and fuel costs also negatively impacted the bottom line.
Business optimism up
- The results of Bank of Hawaii’s February Semi-Annual Survey of Business Confidence shows most owners and operators of businesses in Hawai’i plan on making capital expenditures, increasing employment, increasing sales, inventory and profits, and are upbeat about the immediate future of the state economy, bank officials said in a press release. Several Kaua’i business operators responded to the survey.
Another Prepare Fair is coming
- Leaders of the Alexander & Baldwin Foundation (A&B Foundation), funded by the business activities of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. and its subsidiaries, have granted $15,000 for the production of a third Kauai Prepare Fair, a homebuyer-community-education effort initiated on this island by A&B leaders last year, they said in a press release.
The 2006 Prepare Fair will be held on April 29, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Kaua’i War Memorial Convention Hall on Hardy Street in Lihu’e.
With this latest grant, the A&B Foundation leaders will have invested $45,000 over the last two years in helping Kaua’i residents to prepare for first-time homeownership.
In 2005, hundreds of Kaua’i residents eager to learn about the process of buying a home attended the first fair held at Kaua’i Community College, and the second, held in Hanapepe.
A&B Foundation Hawaii Committee Chair Meredith Ching said, “Our hope is that the A&B Foundation’s support for these educational events, coupled with our funding company’s efforts to develop homes for the people of Kaua’i, will help to put more Kaua’i residents in homes of their own over the next several years.”
Contractors Association of Kauai (CAK) leaders are again coordinating the fair, which will offer scheduled workshops in addition to five hours of exhibition by representatives of organizations who can assist in the homeownership process. For exhibitor information, contact Karen Taketa at 246-2662.
“Two years ago, we asked employees to help identify priority causes within their communities, and homeownership was one of the top items on their lists,” added Ching. “So we looked for innovative and effective means of meeting community needs, and the first two Prepare Fairs were successful in raising awareness of programs and opportunities that already were available. In the end, we want to better people’s lives.”
A&B’s Kaua’i subsidiaries are A&B Properties, Matson Navigation, Kauai Coffee Company, Kauai Commercial Company and Kukui’ula Development Company.
The A&B Foundation leaders granted more than $2 million to nearly 500 charities in Hawai’i, the Pacific Islands, and on the Mainland during 2005.
For more information, visit the Web site, www.alexanderbaldwin.com, and look for the A&B Foundation link.
