Howard Dicus

Alaska Airlines has confirmed its plan to acquire Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion in case and debt assumption. The most interesting detail is: both carriers will keep their respective brands. Hawaii News Now - Sunrise

Gov. Green on live - Hawaii News Now - Sunrise - residents will be allowed back into Lahaina as roads are made safe - and as fallen power lines are moved out of the way. Green says the president called again today to ask what is needed - the governor said he needs hotel rooms for construction workers - he says he has been told restoration of power and cell towers will take months.

NCL makes $50,000 donation to United Way. The Hawaii Bankers Association and the four largest Hawaii banks have all made gifts to the Maui Strong fund. Hawaii News Now

FEMA head Deanne Criswell and SBA head Isabella Casillas Guzman are flying to Hawaii. These are the officials who approve resources for Maui disaster relief and the more they personally see, the more they will understand what they need to do. Hawaii News Now

Maui radio stations are working tirelessly to share information with residents. It's not easy, because the usual official sources of information are themselves struggling with intermittent telecoms gaps. Much of what they hear is "crowd-sourced," supplied by callers the hosts know, describing things they personally witnessed. Hawaii News Now

We're hearing some West Maui resorts have evacuated all guests and are now housing their own employees and their families. Which means they can still use supplies - food, medicine, fuel for power generators. Confirming details remains tricky due to gaps in wired and wireless telecoms. Hawaii News Now

Both Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest Airlines have been adding extra interisland flights to evacuate Maui visitors to Honolulu (and some locals, who can stay with friends/family on Oahu) and carry relief supplies back. Even Alaska Airlines is doing this, despite not normally doing interisland service. Hawaii News Now

Gusty winds blowing in through an open window blew down several of my CD towers. It's the third time in 10 years this has happened... but the first time it happened while I was sitting at my computer. One of the towers fell on my head. I was still bleeding when I arrived at work, but Dr. Grace Lee treated me and I'm better now.

June producer price index rose merely one tenth from May to June, yielding an annual wholesale inflation rate of only 2.6%. But food price inflation is still much greater,, even after declines in prices for meats and eggs. Hawaii News Now - Sunrise

Inflation slows more than expected. The annual pace, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, fell from 4% in May to 3% in June. Most of the current inflationary pressure is in housing, especially rents. Hawaii News Now

U.S. unemployment fell one tenth to 3/6% in June, in line with consensus forecast; but hiring added 209,000 jobs, fewer than expected. Hiring slowed nationwide in leisure and hospitality, and also in retail. Hawaii News Now - Sunrise

ADP, the payroll company, counts almost half a million new jobs in June, double what forecasters had expected. Leisure and hospitality added more jobs than the consensus forecast for all industries. Hawaii News Now - Sunrise

U.S. airlines are making an extra effort this weekend, in some cases offering triple time to staff weekend flights. Of world airports with most cancellations Saturday, only one U.S. makes the top 10, Reagan National with 13 canceled arrivals. United Airlines has 48 cancellations nationwide, worst of the majors but a sharp drop from recent weekdays. Hawaii News Now - Sunrise

TSA estimates airports will screen over 2.8 million passengers Friday, June 30, the likely peak day for Fourth of July airline travel. For the seven days to July 5th they expect to process nearly 18 million fliers. Hawaii News Now - Sunrise

We got fewer than 800,000 visitors by air in May, but that was still up more than 3% from last year, and down only about 5% from pre-Covid. Visitor spending was up almost 8% from last year to nearly $1.7 billion – in other words, keeping pace with inflation. Hawaii News Now

The Teamsters says UPS, negotiating a new contract with drivers, has agreed to install air conditioning in its trucks. Hawaii News Now - Sunrise

A day after consumer price inflation fell to 4%, producer prices show a decline from April to May - and a bigger decline than economists expected. The Fed this morning will announce its interest rate decision. Hawaii News Now - Sunrise

The Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning reports inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, fell to 4% in May. Core inflation, which dials out volatile food and energy, 5.3%. Most stories on CPI are written in New York by reporters focused on Wall Street. But if you think about lower income households, the news isn't as good. The big inflation drivers are rents - shelter rose 8% - and food - up 6.7%. Decliners included air fares. On the whole, prices seem to favor the affluent and the middle class - families on tight budgets, not so much. Hawaii News Now - Sunrise

Check out my four ways to improve the new Apple Vision Pro, shown today - https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/video/2023/06/07/business-report-how-improve-apples-new-vision-pro/ - on Illustrated Economics. Hawaii News Now

Business Report: How to improve Apple's new Vision Pro This morning, Howard has four ways to improve Apple's new Vision Pro.

Organizing my home computer and came across this. Makana is unseen in the back with me.

Hardly ever happens to me, but I've got laryngitis. They're sending me home after the 5:15 biz.

It's FRIDAY!

September marks 51 years I've been a news broadcaster. It all started as I was starting senior year in high school. I did local radio in Annapolis, Md. and Washington, D.C., then 20 years as a network newscaster heard on AP Radio, Mutual News, UPI Audio and, through UPI, on NPR. I never worked directly for public radio or in television until relocating permanently to Hawaii at the end of 2000. I still enjoy broadcasting as much at 69 as I did at 17. Below, for those watching this week's "Sunrise" Mahalo Tour, is a photo from the first one five years ago.

Thanks for letting me take a week and two days off! I'll be back on Hawaii News Now Wednesday morning at 4:30 a.m. HST, freshly shorn and ready for biz.

Good morning from sunny Hawaii, where my return to Hawaii News Now Sunrise is minutes away. I'll be live from my 33rd story aerie overlooking Wild West Waikiki, pretending to be fully recovered!

Hello, fellow kids! I've been out for a couple weeks recovering from prostate surgery. But I'm feeling better and will be reporting live from my home studio Monday morning, Lord-willin'-and-the-Ala Wai-don't-rise. Hawaii News Now

Wishing you a Merry Christmas! This screen capture is from a "weather report" I shot on a visit to Maryland seven years ago. Since then I think my only personal encounter with snow was driving to the Mauna Kea summit on assignment. I'm shivering just recalling it! BTW, the history of Christmas carols, 5am-7am Christmas morning, live on Hawaiʻi Public Radio's HPR-2.

It's a sign of the times, I suppose, that people assume illness when someone is off the air for a couple days. I'm taking a couple days off, that's all. Be back for you Thursday morning. Hawaii News Now.

Good morning!

"Sunrise On the Road" as seen from the view of our top-notch technicians. Hawaii News Now

Last week's jobless claims, including both new claims and filings from those still unemployed from previous weeks. Does not include those still being processed, those who exhausted their benefits, or those working part-time who need full-time. Hawaii News Now

April vacation rentals, including both Airbnb and timeshares. Smaller number is rental nights sold / larger number after the forward-slash is rental nights offered Hawaii News Now

Declines expressed as repair, or revenue per available room. Biggest declines were resorts that rely heavily on Australians. The smaller decline for Cabo says more about hurricane damage in pre-Covid seasons. But, more broadly, everybody hurts. Hawaii News Now

Winter earnings reports: Southwest posts a $101 million Q1 profit, saying without federal aid it would have lost over $1 billion. American lost $1.25 billion even with aid. Alaska lost $131 million and says without aid it would have lost many times that. The federal aid, conditional on new layoffs, saved jobs and enables quicker expansion as demand returns.. Hawaii News Now

A misleading anti-masking report is circulating in Hawaii, pushed by people who don't question its claims because it supports views they already hold. Snopes weighs in: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/stanford-nih-mask-study/?utm_campaign=Snopes%20Debunker%20-%20Wednesday%2C%20April%2021%2C%202021%20-%20Did%20A%20‘Stanford%2FNIH’%20Study%20Conclude%20Masks%20Don’t%20Work%3F%20%28YhCLkj%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Snopes%20Debunker%20-%20Wednesday%20Edition

Did A 'Stanford/NIH' Study Conclude Masks Don't Work? | Snopes.com Really depends on how you define these words: Stanford, NIH, Study, Conclude, Mask, and Work.

It's older data - an average for all of 2020 - but still interesting to the alternative measures of unemployment. U1 is persons jobless for 15 weeks or more, and U2 adds temps whose assignments ended. U3 is the official jobless rate. U4 adds discouraged workers while U5 adds marginally-attached workers. U6 adds workers who ARE employed but can only find part-time when they're seeking full-time. Hawaii News Now.

Unadjusted March jobless rates by island, in dark blue, and February in light blue. Still really high unemployment, especially on the islands of Kauai and Maui. Last year, March jobless rates were under 3% on all our islands. Hawaii News Now

30% of global container shipping passes through the Suez Canal on a normal day, including about a third of Asia cargo bound for the U.S. East Coast. The canal takes hours to traverse because most of it is "one lane wide," forcing northbound and southbound traffic to take turns running convoys. Going the long way around Africa takes a week. Hawaii News Now

February 2021 unemployment rates by island (and Jan 2021)(and Feb 2020) showing improvement but circumstances are still far worse than pre-Covid. Hawaii News Now