Blog: www.kgmb9.com/howard

It's time for another extremity-tingling edition of, Crisis at a Glance! In which we give the mainland economic news a proper airing while gently teasing those who would panic over every little thing.

We got fresh signs this morning that the economy has gotten a consumer spending bump from the tax rebates -- but the bump has been enjoyed only entirely by two companies. Wal-Mart sales were up 6% and Costco sales were up 9% last month, compared to the same time last year. But what about the other retailers? Target was flat. JCPenney was down 6%. TheGap was down 7%. Nordstrom was down 8%.

The Nordstrom figure is something for Hawaii tourism marketers to worry about, since we rely on affluent vacationers, but in the end it comes down to, not their actual affluence, but how they feel about their finances.

One more item Toyota says it's switching its Mississippi assembly line over to Prius hybrids. It has been making Highlander SUVs. And so we put the brakes on another edition of Crisis at Glance! Crisis slightly higher west of the Rockies.

Other Headlines:

Dole Food -- selling land to raise cash -- has completed the sale of more than 2,000 acres of farmland on the North Shore. The 39-million-dollar deal was announced in March, but now Dole confirms the buyer is Pioneer Hi-Bred, a subsidiary of DuPont that was already leasing the land for seed corn production. The land is on the left of Farrington Highway as you drive past Waialua toward the hang-glider fields.

How other half home-shops! Coldwell Banker says, since the year began, 192 homes and 40 condos have sold on Oahu for a million dollars or more, including a dozen properties for 5 million and up. The report comes from Anne Hogan Perry, who made that 20 million dollar sale in Kailua not too long ago.

Attention airline executives! The Hilo Downtown Improvement Association has voted to do all it can to support new airline service to Hilo. You know the demise of ATA cut off Hilo's only direct link to the mainland, and it's not an easy time to launch new service anywhere, but maybe the association can make it easier with some hotel deals.

How many airline executives signed a petition denouncing oil speculation? I'll have the answer for you in less than 15 minutes.

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