Economy

the current DBEDT forecast is slightly less optimistic than its February 2013 forecast for some of local economic indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP) growth, job growth, and visitor-related indicators...

...visitors to the state appear to be booking shorter trips and spending less at local shops, perhaps in response to higher hotel room rates....

Honeywell CEO "Comfortable" Taking $25 Million from Taxpayers to Create Only Ten Jobs....

... only California, New Jersey, and New York are more repressive than Hawaii ....

One of the opportunities that sequestration presents is the realization of just how dependent the American public is ....

...the governor interrupted by saying he has been hearing “the same propaganda.”

we, mere mortals, cannot predict what the prize industry of the future will be....

New Study Measures Jobs, Economic Impact and Community Service....

an increase to its previous projection for 2013 General Fund tax revenues from 5.1 to 6.7 percent growth....

America is set to become a net natural gas exporter by 2020 and virtually self-sufficient in energy by 2035....

...direct flights to Hawaii will exceed 2.6 M for the three month period between February and April 2013. This is an increase of more than 11%....

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Where does Honolulu rank among 300 cities? It ranks 284th for the 1993 to 2007 period, and 217th for the 2007 to 2011 period....

The meeting is being held in response to public comments we have received regarding Bank of Hawaii's planned closure of its branch offices in American Samoa....

For the past few days the White House, with a big assist from sympathetic media, has done all within its considerable powers to make it seem like sequestration means the end of the world....

Total expenditures by visitors who came to Hawai‘i in January 2013 rose 5.7 percent (or $77.3 million) from January 2012....

“If President Obama were making the decision for your family… he’d tell you to stop buying gas for your car and explain how you could only eat five days a week.”

...higher minimum wage is unlikely to accomplish the stated goal of raising the living standards of the working poor....

Here is a point-by-point comparison of the White House numbers for Hawaii and Sen. Harkin’s numbers for Hawaii. 

...look at the issue from an economic and financial well-being stand point instead of the emotional and social welfare perspective....

...Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) predicts a stronger economic growth in 2013, outpacing the national growth rate....

The Ball Corporation is the only manufacturer of metal cans in the islands. The company employs 45 people and the beverage tax places their jobs directly at risk.

The electricity that is produced from natural gas is 43 percent the cost of solar power, 68 percent the cost of wind power and 57 percent the cost of biomass....

It would be better to replace them with smarter cuts, but the reality is that Washington has to start cutting spending now....

...Hawaii could see layoffs and reduced income growth, which in turn would weigh on economic growth....

On a hillside in Hawaii sits a lavish home — a six-building estate that looks out over dark lava fields, the Pacific Ocean and a championship golf course....

The bills would provide economic relief to American consumers and businesses who have been forced to pay a $14 billion hidden tax over the past four years alone in order for the federal government to provide a special interest subsidy to sugar producers....

Air carriers have optimistically boosted scheduled seats from Japan, although in our view yen depreciation and higher room rates will act to limit further Japanese market gains....

You’re busy. So busy you barely have time to read these words. So why should you care about the U.S. debt? Does it affect your life?

...such taxes can shrink the economy unnecessarily by discouraging investment and artificially raising the price of basic needs....

Minnesota (-8) and Hawaii (-9)  -- the first time since Gallup initiated daily tracking in 2008 that confidence has been this close to crossing into positive territory in any of the 50 states. 

Tesoro announced they were shutting down their refinery .... The question on everyone’s mind—what does this mean for Hawai‘i?

Global Metro Monitor update of the Brookings Institution. Yet another non-flattering economic statistic....

...liberals are increasingly shedding their humanist pretentions and showing (their true) misanthropic nature....

Growth in total visitor expenditures and arrivals in every month of the year elevated annual 2012 total visitor expenditures to a record $14.3 billion....

Effective Feb. 1, 2013, GA payments will be reduced from $319 to $298 per person per month for an estimated 5,537 Hawaii beneficiaries....

Rep Thielen introduced House Bill 9 to repeal the controversial Public Lands Development Corporation....

Overall, the $1.40 billion of education-related expenditures attributable to UHM generated $2.45 billion in local business sales, $735 million in employee earnings, $131 million in state tax revenues, and slightly under 20,000 jobs in Hawai‘i in FY2012....

Should the Legislature require the state Public Utilities Commission to approve energy projects that further the state’s renewable energy goals even if it costs consumers more?  -- NO 75%

...Obama promised to cut the annual deficit in half in his first term. Instead, his budgets include near-trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see....

China set a record with its investments around the world in 2012. And in the United States, China shattered its previous investment record.

the 19th edition of the Index of Economic Freedom, produced by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal....

He is a member of the Hawaii Bankers Association, Financial Services Roundtable, Hawaii Business Roundtable and the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii’s Military Affairs Council

With a new study pointing the finger at high fructose corn syrup as a culprit in America’s explosive epidemic of obesity, it is important to remember just why we are consuming so much of this commodity as opposed to table sugar....

The deal is being characterized as one aimed at “stopping taxes from going up on middle class families,” but in fact the expiration of the 2% social security payroll tax holiday means that employees will see 6.2% instead of 4.2% withheld.... 

...the situation would be much worse for the refineries as we add another 25-30 kb/d demand cut by introducing LNG into our energy system....

 "...revenue enhancements such as making permanent certain tax provisions that are due to sunset in 2015 and beyond.”