Google announced a big change in its approach to search today.

The search giant said the move was the first step in transitioning from an “information agent” to a “knowledge agent.”

“The Knowledge Graph enables you to search for things, people or places that Google knows about — landmarks, celebrities, cities, sports teams, buildings, geographical features, movies, celestial objects, works of art and more — and instantly get information that’s relevant to your query,” Amit Singhal, a senior vice president at Google, wrote.

— NPR

Alaska Airlines is adding to its Hawaii seasonal service with four flights per week to Kauai from Portland, Ore., starting Nov. 5.

The flights will add to Seattle-based Alaska Airlines’ seasonal flights from Portland to Honolulu, Maui and Kona on the Big Island, for a total of 26 flights per week, the airline said.

— Pacific Business News

Honda says it’s recalling nearly 53,000 Acura TL sedans in the U.S. to fix a problem with power steering hoses.

The hoses can deteriorate over time and leak fluid. That can cause the cars to lose power steering or even cause a fire.

— Christian Science Monitor

Cisco Systems Inc. will open its first Hawaii Cisco Networking Academy atHonolulu Community College on Friday, a program to teach students how to design, build and manage computer networks and prepare them for information and communications technology jobs.

The University of Hawaii will provide classroom space, computer lab equipment and instructors Honolulu Community College Networking Academy, while San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) will provide free online course, teacher training and professional development for instructors.

— Pacific Business News

The Tokyo Skytree, twice as tall as the Eiffel Tower, opens next week as Japanese train operators counter an aging population by building malls, offices and tourist attractions.

The 634-meter (2,080 feet) structure in eastern Tokyo sits in a retail complex housing more than 300 shops and restaurants, a planetarium and an aquarium. Developer Tobu Railway Co. (9001) expects the project to draw 32 million visitors in its first year, surpassing the numbers at Tokyo Disney Resort. Tobu, whose revenue has fallen for five years, will also get a 28.3 billion yen ($352 million) sales boost in the year ending March 31, according to Kazuhiko Hirata, a general manager for finance.

— Bloomberg

Hawaiian Airlines has signed on to be the title sponsor of the New York Outrigger’s annual outrigger canoe marathon in New York City for the next three years.

The marathon, in which some 300 paddlers compete in New York Harbor, the Hudson and East rivers, will be called the Hawaiian Airlines Liberty Challenge starting with the 2012 event on June 23, through the 2014 event, Honolulu-based Hawaiian Airlines, a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings Inc., said in a statement. Hawaiian Airlines begins flights to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport  on June 5.

— Pacific Business News

The British government is making urgent preparations to cope with the fallout of a possible Greek exit from the single currency, after the governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, warned that Europe was “tearing itself apart”.

Reports from Athens that massive sums of money were being spirited out of the country intensified concern in Whitehall about the impact of a splintering of the eurozone on a UK economy that is stuck in double-dip recession. One estimate put the cost to the eurozone of Greece making a disorderly exit from the currency at $1tn, 5% of output.

— The Guardian

China’s economic miracle has been accompanied by astonishingly rapid population ageing. Could growing old too fast end China’s irresistible march out of poverty?

Where Shanghai leads, China follows. The city is ultra-modern - but also one of the fastest-ageing places on Earth.

— BBC

Federal Reserve policymakers are open to further efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy if growth falters or threats escalate.

Minutes of the central bank’s April 24-25 meeting released Wednesday stated that “several members” thought additional Fed support could be needed if the recovery lost momentum or if the risks to the economy became great enough.

— NPR

Stocks were headed for a third day of losses, with the S&P 500 falling to fresh 3-month lows, as failure to form a new government in Greece put the debt-ridden nation’s bailout package and debt repayments further at risk.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 64.03 points, or 0.50 percent, to 12,631.32. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX dropped 7.34 points, or 0.55 percent, to 1,331.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index.IXIC dropped 7.37 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,895.21.

— Reuters