From the New York Times, more signs of the recession’s depth and breadth.

On Monday, Toyota said it expected an operating loss in its auto operations of 150 billion yen, or $1.7 billion, for the fiscal year ending March 31. That would be the company’s first annual operating loss since 1938, a year after the company was founded, and a huge reversal from the 2.3 trillion yen, or $28 billion, in operating profit earned last year.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Maui County Mayor Charmaine Tavares met with Congressional leaders this week to seek $744 million for city and county infrastructure projects.

The trip was part of a call for the MainStreet Economic Recovery plan, a national coordinated by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Mayors from across the nation are requesting emergency federal funding for over 11,391 infrastructure projects to be included in the first 100 days of President-elect Barrack Obama’s administration. Projects are located in 427 cities and are estimated to cost $73 billion.

“We are all facing significant challenges, and we must face them together,” Mr. Hannemann said. “We must invest in our communities and in our workforce to move our nation forward and keep it strong.”

Mr. Hannemann and Ms. Tavares met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to report that the projects would create about 6,200 jobs in Hawai‘i as part of the economic recovery effort. Read More

The latest RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report shows that there were 395 Hawai‘i properties with foreclosure filings in October—a 202 percent increase than the same time last year.

“Hawai‘i foreclosure filings tripled in October compared to last year,” says James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Statistics show that the state’s home values and home sales have fallen below the national average during the past year. This is likely contributing to the recent rise [in foreclosures].”

The large number of foreclosures, one filing per 1,266 Hawai‘i households, has kept real estate appraisers working overtime to keep up with bank requests for Broker Price Opinions throughout the islands. Most foreclosures were in developing communities such as ‘Ewa and Mililani, as well as lower value homes in Waianae and islands neighboring O‘ahu.

“O‘ahu always has a market because space for properties are so scarce [compared to other islands],” says residential appraiser Christopher Converse. “Either land isn’t developed, or land is not going to be developed.” Read More

The American International Building in lower Manhattan.

AIG Hawai‘i is not likely to go out of business, nor are its thousands of Hawai‘i insurance customers likely to lose their policies, as a result of the well-publicized financial problems of its parent holding company, American International Group. But AIG Hawai‘i and other local companies held by AIG may be sold off to repay the billions in loans that the parent company is getting from the federal government.

According to the AIG Hawai‘i Web site, “It was announced at the conference call to investors on October 3, that the AIG Personal Auto Group is on the list of assets for sale. This does not necessarily mean that the company will be sold, or a buyer has been identified.”

The state, meanwhile, says policy holders are safe.

“Edward Liddy, the fellow who took over AIG with the Fed’s blessing, has said that he doesn’t want to sell off the companies individually,” says Hawai‘i Insurance Commissioner Jeffrey P. Schmidt. However, Schmidt believes AIG’s local assets may be sold off as part of a larger package. Read More

With U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye expected to head the Senate Appropriations Committee under a president-elect with political, familial and historical interests in the islands, the state of Hawai‘i looks ready to reap the funding rewards of Congress’ next harvest.

The local mainstream press has lauded the change. “Isles hope Inouye brings home bacon,” the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported on Saturday.

The promotion follows growing concerns over excess earmarks and pork-barrel spending, which were dragged through the mud for the entirety of the recent presidential campaign. Mr. Inouye, one of the outspoken voices to support a need for funding special projects, faces a difficult task of keeping Hawai‘i projects at the head of the table while facing the criticisms of government watchdog groups. Read More

• 7 months —Keiki Care, the only universal health care program for children in the nation, has been cut only 7 months after being implemented.
• 2,000 —The number of children covered under the program, which will be terminated as of November 1.
• $50,000 —The monthly cost to run the program.
• $25.50 —The monthly cost for the program, per child.
• 3,500 to 16,000 —The estimated number of children lacking health coverage in Hawai‘i.
• $55 —The monthly cost per child for the HMSA Children’s Plan, a much costlier alternative to the Keiki Care program.
• $900 million —The state’s anticipated budget shortfall in 2011.
• $1.8 million —Approximate amount saved over three years by cutting the Keiki Care program.

Source: AP

On Monday, Governor Linda Lingle presented a plan to engage in short- and long-term steps to bolster Hawai‘i’s economy.

“We are in full-action mode,” Lingle said. “We will not stand by and simply wait for things to get better.”

To address economic challenges in Hawai‘i caused largely by the ensuing global crisis, Lingle is implementing a five point plan to stimulate the local economy and encourage investment:

1. Increased tourism outreach and marketing.

2. Investing in improvements to our infrastructure and state facilities.

3. Lowering business fees and providing tax relief.

4. Attracting outside investment, especially in energy.

5. Maximizing federal dollars and partnerships.

“In addition to pursuing these action items with great intensity,” Lingle said, “we are also cutting spending to ensure that we have a firm handle on our expenses.”

The administration is continuing to cut spending in order to address a potential $903 million gap between revenue and expenditures over the next 3 years. Read More

As the summer comes to a close, the future of the financial market is looking anything but bright—leaving Hawai‘i residents feeling an immediate concern about what happens next.

This week, the federal government gave insurance giant AIG another $37.8 billion loan after it had used up the $85 billion emergency credit that it received last month.

Recently, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama criticized AIG executives who spent $440,000 on an insurance agent gathering at a resort in California for not spending responsibly.

Compounded with the $700 billion bailout plan approved last week to purchase troubled mortgage-backed securities from lenders, the perception for some Hawai‘i residents is that tax-payer money isn’t going to directly help the tax-payers. Read More

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate began talks on an amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to impose a surtax on the wealthiest Americans to pay for a $700 billion emergency bailout.

In a time when both Democrats and Republicans are trying to regroup before giving the bailout plan a second go, the independent senator is adamant in voting against the bill unless his amendment is included.

“Having mismanaged the economy for eight years while continually insisting that the ‘fundamentals of our economy are strong,’ the Bush administration now wants the middle class of this country to bail out Wall Street,” Sanders said. “Meanwhile the wealthiest people, those who have benefited most from Bush’s policies and are in the best position to pay, are being asked for no sacrifice at all. This is absurd.” Read More