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Ironically, the 14th annual observance of Bike to Work Day expected to attract from 50,000 to 100,000 commuters in the Bay Area coincides with the year’s first Spare the Air Day, as called by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

Unseasonably hot temperatures ranging from the 80s to low 100s in the East Bay were forecast for Thursday. An accompanying temperature inversion were expected to trap high levels of ozone at the ground level, reaching unhealthful levels and triggering the special alert from the air quality district.

However, unlike some previous Spare the Air days, Thursday’s offers no free public transit in the Bay Area payday advances.

"There is no free transit funded for tomorrow’s Spare the Air day," BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger said in a statement Wednesday. "We urge riders to help Spare the Air by biking to BART instead of driving."

BART stations in the East Bay and San Francisco will host 17 of the more than 150 "energizer" stations for Bike to Work Day, offering beverages, snacks and encouragement for riders.

dgoll@bizjournals.com | 925-598-1436

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China's inflation accelerated to close to the fastest pace since 1996 as food prices soared and the government slowed gains by the yuan.

Consumer prices rose 8.5 percent in April from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said today, after gaining 8.3 percent in March. That topped the 8.2 percent median estimate of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Food prices jumped 22 percent, a threat to social stability as the world's most populous nation prepares to host the Olympic Games this summer. Faster currency appreciation, while reducing import costs, also risks attracting more speculative funds into an economy flooded with cash.

“The yuan needs to appreciate at a much faster pace to reduce import costs,'' said Li Wei, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank Plc in Shanghai. “The inflation situation is very serious and the government needs a clear solution.''

The yuan traded at 6.9830 versus the dollar as of 11.57 a.m. in Shanghai from 6.9833 before the data was released. The currency has climbed about 0.4 percent versus the dollar since March 31 after a 4.2 increase in the first quarter that was the biggest jump since the end of a fixed exchange rate in 2005.

The price of crude oil has doubled in the past year and copper has climbed about 24 percent since the start of this year, adding to China's import bill. Labor costs are also rising.

Food Stampede

The jump in food prices was more than the 21 percent increase in March. Meat climbed 48 percent. Non-food prices climbed 1.8 percent, an unchanged pace.

“Inflation is China's number one economic issue,'' said Donald Straszheim, vice chairman of Newport Beach, California- based Roth Capital Partners.

Three people died in last year's worst food stampede in China, at a cooking oil sale at a Carrefour SA supermarket in Chongqing, underscoring the threat to stability from rising prices. Soaring inflation helped trigger the Tiananmen Square protests that were crushed by the army in 1989.

Central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said May 10 that the government will boost agricultural supplies to cool prices.

Rice, wheat, corn and soybeans have risen to records this year, boosting hunger and malnutrition around the world, according to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon bad credit payday advance.

Economic Expansion

China's economy, the world's fourth largest, expanded 10.6 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, down from the 11.9 percent pace for all of 2007, as exports cooled and blizzards closed factories. Consumer prices rose 8.7 percent in February, the biggest gain since May 1996.

“Price pressures are still very big,'' said Isaac Meng, senior economist at BNP Paribas SA in Beijing. “Higher inflation makes people's daily lives harder and weaker growth threatens jobs — both are important social issues and the government can't ignore either.''

Central banks around the world are grappling with faster inflation and slowing growth. In Asia, Bank Indonesia on May 6 raised interest rates for the first time in more than two years and the Reserve Bank of India last month twice ordered lenders to set aside more reserves.

China's Zhou said May 5 that there's a possibility interest rates will rise. The central bank has kept the benchmark one- year lending rate unchanged at a nine-year high of 7.47 percent this year after six increases in 2007.

Overseas Funds

The government is concerned that rates higher than in the U.S. and the strengthening yuan are attracting overseas money to an economy awash with trade cash — threatening to fuel inflation.

The People's Bank of China will raise interest rates at least once this year, according to 11 of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News last month.

China's central bank has ordered lenders to set aside more deposits as reserves three times this year, pushing the ratio to a record 16 percent. It also sells bills to drain cash from the financial system.

The government is targeting inflation of 4.8 percent this year, the same as the actual rate in 2007.

The average wage in Chinese urban areas climbed 18.3 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier to 6,524 yuan ($935). Producer prices jumped 8.1 percent in April from a year earlier, the fastest pace since November 2004.

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Hilo Hattie, one of the largest retailers of Hawaiian fashions, souvenirs and gifts, has been sold to a California-based owner of a chain of hair salons.

TOC Inc. purchased the 45-year-old privately owned company for an undisclosed amount, the company said Friday.

"I have the utmost confidence in TOC Inc's ability to successfully grow the company," Jim Romig, founder and chairman of Hilo Hattie, said in a statement. "Ted Nelson, a principal of TOC Inc., has over a decade of experience in doing business in Hawaii and currently owns the Hawaii region of Fantastic Sams hair salons."

Nelson is a principal in FS Hawaii Inc., which owns 18 Fantastic Sams hair salons on Oahu.

"Hilo Hattie is a strong retail company with an incredible history in Hawaii. We are truly committed to building and expanding its brand," Nelson said faxless payday loans.

Romig started the business in 1963 on Kauai as Kaluna Hawaii Sportswear and began manufacturing aloha shirts and other Hawaiian-themed apparel on Oahu two years later. The company was renamed Hilo Hattie in 1979, after the death of the original Hilo Hattie, entertainer Clarissa Haili.

The company today has seven stores on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island and two in Southern California. Hilo Hattie also is planning to open a new 20,000 square-foot flagship store at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in Waikiki.

Employees were told of the sale on Friday afternoon. All retail stores and offices will continue to operate as usual, the company said.

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China's export growth slowed in April and the trade surplus was little changed, giving the government room to maintain a slower pace of yuan gains.

Overseas sales rose about 21.8 percent from a year earlier, after gaining 30.6 percent in March, according to calculations by Bloomberg News based on data released by the Ministry of Commerce today. The trade surplus was about $16.8 billion, almost unchanged from $16.7 billion a year earlier.

Central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said on May 4 that weaker export growth has been a factor in the yuan's failure to appreciate versus the dollar after a 4.2 percent jump in the first quarter. The government is concerned that inflows of cash from exports will fuel 11-year high inflation and the overheating of the world's fastest-growing major economy.

“Exports will slow further in the second half as the weaker demand in the U.S. and other markets becomes more pronounced,'' said Liao Qun, chief economist at Citic Ka Wah Bank in Hong Kong. “China won't want the yuan to appreciate too fast for this reason.''

The trade surplus was more than the $15.5 billion median forecast of 19 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Economists expected exports to rise 20.3 percent. The gain in overseas shipments compares with the 21.4 percent pace in the first quarter and the 26 percent increase for all of last year.

Imports grew about 26.1 percent in April from a year earlier after gaining 24.6 in March, the calculations showed. The increase partly reflects rising commodity prices.

Currency Gains

The world's fourth-biggest economy expanded 10.6 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier and inflation accelerated to 8 percent, the fastest pace since 1996 advance america cash advance.

Gains by the yuan quickened in the quarter to the fastest since a fixed-exchange rate was scrapped in 2005. A stronger currency makes products more expensive in overseas markets and cuts import costs. Since April, the appreciation has slowed, with the currency only climbing 0.18 percent against the dollar.

Growth in shipments from China to the U.S. has cooled this year as a housing slump threatens to trigger a recession in the world's biggest economy. A weaker global expansion has dimmed the outlook for the rest of the year.

Food Costs

Inflation, driven by food costs, climbed to an 11-year high of 8.7 percent in February, more than the central bank's target for the year of 4.8 percent. Consumer prices rose 8.2 percent in April, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists. That number will be released on May 12.

Producer prices rose 8.1 percent in April, the fastest pace in more than three years, the statistics bureau said today.

Export growth “will continue to trend down in months to come as the global economic downturn unfolds,'' said Sun Mingchun, an economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in Hong Kong. “It could even fall below 10 percent in the fourth quarter.''

Bloomberg's calculations are based on Ministry of Commerce data for shipments of mechanical and electrical products for the first four months, released on a ministry Web site today. The ministry said exports of those products represented 59.2 percent of total exports and imports of the goods were 47.3 percent of total imports.

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The Pride of Aloha will leave interisland service in Hawaii this week for Miami.

NCL Corp. announced Tuesday that it will reflag and rename the Pride of Aloha as the Norwegian Sky, offering three- and four-day cruises to the Bahamas from Miami, beginning this summer.

NCL had announced in February, one week after pulling the Pride of Hawaii from interisland operations, that the Pride of Aloha would deploy to Asia on May 11 guaranteed cash advance loan.

The ship originally launched in 1999 as the Norwegian Sky but was renamed and reflagged the Pride of Aloha for interisland service in 2004.

The Pride of America will be the only NCL cruise ship remaining in Hawaii.

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MDC Holdings Inc. will be the only Colorado home builder included in a report, to be released Tuesday, that ranks the 13 largest, publicly traded U.S. builders by their "green" practices.

The ranking of the most environmental and sustainable builders was compiled by Calvert Group Ltd. of Bethesda, Md., with Boston College’s Institute for Responsible Investment in Boston. Calvert underwrites and distributes mutual funds that specialize in "sustainable and responsible investing," through its Calvert Distributors Inc. subsidiary.

MDC (NYSE: MDC) of Denver builds houses nationwide under the name Richmond American Homes no fax payday loans.

Other builders in the Calvert survey include Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) of Atlanta, Centex Corp. (NYSE: CTX) and D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) of Texas, KB Home (NYSE: KBH) of Los Angeles and Pulte Homes Inc. (NYSE: PHM) of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

MDC Holdings recently reported a first-quarter net loss of $72.8 million, down from a loss of $94.4 million a year earlier. Revenue dropped 45.5 percent to $406.1 million from $745.1 million during the same period.

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Stardust Cos. CEO Jerry Bisgrove has pledged $25 million to the Valley of the Sun United Way Foundation — the largest donation ever made to the local United Way, and the third-largest to any United Way chapter nationwide, said Mary Lou Valenzuela, a spokeswoman for the local chapter.

A longtime United Way contributor, Bisgrove made the announcement at a private event held Thursday night for members of the Tocqueville Society, a group comprising those who have donated $10,000 or more to the local chapter.

While the Valley of the Sun United Way conducts an annual giving campaign aimed at funding day-to-day operations of its social service programs, it recently launched an Endowment Campaign to build a reserve to ensure the group’s long-term financial prosperity payday loans. The initial fundraising goal is $75 million.

Bisgrove’s Stardust Foundation will match 50 cents of every dollar pledged over the next five years to the endowment campaign, up to $25 million.

For more: www.vsuw.org.

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Online advertising for employment was up in Honolulu during April, despite a downturn for ads in 49 of 52 top metropolitan areas, according to a report by The Conference Board released Wednesday.

A total of 9,700 jobs in the Honolulu area were advertised on Internet job boards in April, up 9 percent from 8,900 during April 2007. The latest figure includes 7,600 jobs that were newly posted during the month.

Both rates were substantially better than the national averages payday loan. The national volume of online employment listings fell 16.4 percent in April, and the number of new jobs being advertised dropped by 10.6 percent.

The Conference Board is a nonprofit research organization based in New York City. It has been monitoring online employment advertising since May 2005.

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