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State
JUNEAU -- It wasn't a commercial, but Gov. Frank Murkowski gave a strong endorsement Feb. 6 to an idea by an Anchorage-based tourism company to begin nonstop flights from Tokyo.
Standing beside a poster of the company's logo, Murkowski held a press conference at the Capitol to announce plans by Alaskan Vacations to begin flights in August to test whether the market will sustain year-round service.
The company, a subsidiary of Hawaiian Vacations, plans four once-weekly flights during the peak of the summer tourism season in Japan.
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport plans to provide an incentive package for the company to complete its test period, said airport director Mort Plumb.
The incentives could include free or reduced costs for a jet bridge, ticket counter space, gate lounge space and landing fees, Plumb said. The value is estimated at about $750 per flight, he said.
The company plans to make four round-trip flights to Haneda Tokyo International Airport using DC-10s capable of carrying up to 355 passengers, said company executive David Karp.
Delta Junction officials plan municipal upgrades
FAIRBANKS -- Federal missile defense money will help upgrade three Delta Junction municipal buildings.
City council members on Feb. 4 approved plans by an economic development council to upgrade the buildings using federal impact funds available because of the Ground-based Missile Defense project and nearby Fort Greely.
The Delta Regional Economic Development Council recommended a four-phase plan:
The city's architect, Charles Bettisworth of Fairbanks, told council members their recommendation would put the projects on track.
Nation
WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Feb. 11 that he wasn't totally convinced that a new round of tax cuts is necessary to bolster the economy and said Congress must make sure future budget deficits remain under control.
Greenspan's comments dealt a blow to President Bush's drive to enact a new round of $1.3 trillion in tax cuts, which Democrats have complained will lead to exploding budget deficits in future years.
"We have to be very careful not to let deficits get out of hand," Greenspan said in response to questions about whether new tax cuts are needed.
In his appearance before the Senate Banking Committee, the Fed chairman urged Congress to renew budgetary rules that would place caps on spending increases and require that any future tax cuts not result in runaway budget deficits.
Greenspan said all of these restraints are critical in light of the fact that the Baby Boom generation will begin retiring early in the next decade, putting huge demands on Social Security and Medicare.
World
TOKYO -- Japan's largest bank, looking to speed its bad loan cleanup, is nearing an agreement with Merrill Lynch & Co. for more than a billion dollars in funding, a Japanese newspaper reported Feb. 11.
Under the plan, Mizuho Holdings Inc. would receive 150 billion yen ($1.25 billion) in exchange for new shares issued to Merrill Lynch, the national Sankei newspaper said. The report didn't cite sources and didn't specify when an agreement would be reached.
If a deal is reached, it would be Merrill Lynch's second investment in a major Japanese bank, reflecting a shift in tactics for the U.S. firm, which announced huge cutbacks of its staff and brokerage offices in Japan last summer.
In December, Merrill Lynch agreed to help UFJ Holdings clear some of its bad debts with a 100 billion yen ($831 million) investment.
Another Japanese megabank, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., received a much-needed infusion of cash last month when Goldman Sachs Group Inc. agreed to invest $1.27 billion.
Japanese banks have struggled to rid themselves of massive bad loans caused by the collapse of asset prices in the late 1980s.
-- Compiled from business wire services
