Orange County Business Journal back issues from January 2009:
2008 Was No-Show Year for Local IPOs
Jan 05, 2009; ... It was the year that wasn't for local initial public offerings. A crashing stock market and tougher accounting rules adopted in recent years made going public too daunting for Orange County companies in 2008. At the same time, corporate buyers, private equity firms and ~ hedge ...
Executives Remain Pessimistic for Q1
Jan 05, 2009; ... Executives and business owners continue to hold low expectations for the first quarter, according to a business sentiment survey by California State University, Fullerton. An index based on the survey is at 15.2 for the new quarter, the lowest in its eight-year history. A reading below ...
Attention, Landlords: Sheriff Seeks Space; Cheap Obama Party
Jan 05, 2009; ... OCInsider With public agencies cutting back, this might seem a poor time for the OC Sheriffs Department to be looking at an office expan- sion. But Assistant Sheriff Jack Anderson thinks the recession could be creating an opportunity for a bargain lease in the softening commercial real ...
Office Landlords Slash Rents, Vacancy Rises
Jan 05, 2009; ... REAL ESTATE: Rents back to mid-2006 level in fourth quarter A flurry of large lease deals wasn't enough to stem the tide for Orange County's office landlords, who saw rents fall and overall leasing remain slow in the fourth quarter, while empty space continued to climb. The ...
Standard Pacific's CEO Eyes Deals, Cuts Costs
Jan 05, 2009; ... Ken Campbell, the turnaround specialist tapped last month to take over Irvine-based Standard Pacific Corp., wants the company to be one of the five largest U.S. homebuilders once the housing market recovers. Standard Pacific was the country's 11th largest homebuilder at the peak of the ...
El-Erian Comes Back to Lead Pimco in Dramatic Year
Jan 05, 2009; ... In a year that rocked the economy, upended the financial system and destroyed some of the legends of Wall Street, few saw their stars rise higher than Mohamed El-Erian's. He made a triumphant return to Newport Beach's Pacific Investment Management Co. in 2008, emerging as heir apparent ...
Kia's Upping Interactive Ads Amid Downturn
Jan 05, 2009; ... AUTOMOTIVE: Company inks partnership deals, targets youth Irvine-based Kia Motors America Inc. is looking to up its marketing amid the worst slump in auto sales in recent history. In August, Kia vowed to increase its marketing spending by 30%, according to Tim Chaney, Kia's ...
Day of Reckoning for Private Equity?
Jan 05, 2009; ... FINANCE: Heavy debt, slowdown of acquisitions has some concerned Private equity firms with a lot of debt put into acquisitions could be hit next by the credit crisis, some local financiers speculate. The issue could come to a head as portfolio companies see a slowdown in sales ...
Honorable Mention: Edwards' Mussallem
Jan 05, 2009; ... Michael Mussallem had a solid year in 2008. The veteran chief executive of Edwards Lifesciences Corp., an Irvine medical device maker, started a big clinical trial for a new type of heart valve, sold off unneeded products and rolled out a few devices during the year. Edwards also ...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Jan 05, 2009; ... TOP STORIES The Federal Reserve picked Newport Beach's Pacific Investment Management Co. as one of four investment companies to manage the buying of $500 billion in mortgage bonds it plans to complete by June (see related story, page 1). BlackRock Inc., Goldman Sachs Asset Management, ...
Honorable Mention: Corinthian's Massimino
Jan 05, 2009; ... Chief Executive Jack Massimino spent the past few years readying Corinthian Colleges Inc. for the down economy. He's worked to retain students and stem falling enrollment at the operator of vocational schools. Now Corinthian is seeing a surge as laid off workers head back to ...
IPO'd Out
Jan 05, 2009; ... Downturn Dulls Strategy of Filing to be Bought For young medical device and drug makers, filing for an initial public offering came with an unwritten plan B: attracting a big corporate buyer or other investor, eliminating the need to go public. But as money has dried up at ...
Runner-Up: Blizzard's Morhaime
Jan 05, 2009; ... A few years ago, Blizzard Entertainment Inc. Chief Executive Michael Morhaime said he had one of those moments that told him "World of Warcraft" was going to be the world's most popular online video game. Some 5,000 fans showed up at a midnight launch at Fry's Electronics store in ...
Companies Temper Spending at CES
Jan 05, 2009; ... TECHNOLOGY: Show's still seen as profitable for attendees Hand-wringing over consumer spending may dull the glow of millions of new flashy gadgets on display at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The trade show - the biggest of its kind - is set to ...
Former Daily Pilot Veterans Starting Local Paper
Jan 05, 2009; ... Two former Daily Pilot veterans are looking to start a daily Internet publication along with a weekly print edition for Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Tom Johnson, the former publisher of the Daily Pilot, and Bill Lobdell, the paper's former editor, plan to run their Web site and weekly ...
Too Soon To Tell
Jan 05, 2009; ... A Look at Executives Who Had a Good 2008, but It's Unclear if Their Gains Will Hold Edmond Thomas Wet Seal Inc. * By JESSICA C. LEE Ed Thomas notched some notable gains in 2008, swimming against the tide of a retail market that's been among the hardest hit in the ...
PEOPLE
Jan 05, 2009; ... Hirings, promotions and other moves at local businesses ASSOCIATIONS The Orange County Business Council added Wayne Gross and Robert Mayer as board members. Gross is a litigation partner at the Costa Mesa office of Snell & Wilmer LLP where he focuses on trial practice, ...
Fashion Island Saw Sales Boost Friday After Christmas
Jan 05, 2009; ... National Retail Federation Asks for 30 Days With No Sales Tax; Auto Registrations Drop 42% MARKETPLACE Black Friday came a little bit later in 2008 for local malls. Fashion Island was bustling the Friday after Christmas, which stood in contrast to the number of shoppers ...
Women Named to Key Spots at Ingram Micro, Conexant
Jan 05, 2009; ... Solarflare Lands U.S. Patent for 10-Gig Chip; Local Startup Inks Deal with Sports Web Site TECHNOLOGY Two local tech companies recently promoted women as finance chiefs. They join the ranks of only a handful of female top senior technology executives in Orange ...
Watson Gains 15 Drugs in Teva's Acquisition of Barr
Jan 05, 2009; ... Edwards to Detail Payments to Doctors; More on E&Y Study on Drug Maker R&D Spending HEALTHCARE Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc., based just over the county line in Corona, has gained the rights to 1 5 generic drugs as part of a settlement with Israel's Teva Pharmaceuticals ...
Crystal Cathedral Looking To Sell Garden Grove Office
Jan 05, 2009; ... Western Realco Building Speculative Industrial; Vocational College Triples Space in Orange REAL ESTATE COMMERCIAL A five-story Garden Grove office building on the campus of the Crystal Cathedral has been put up for sale by the megachurch. Crystal Cathedral ...
SPEAK
Jan 05, 2009; ... Quotes from this week's Business Journal "I always go down to the studio grumbling about it." On his reluctant role as a Pimco spokesman. Mohamed El-Erian, see story page 1 "No girls this year." On D-Link forgoing the scantily-clad ladies at this year's ...
"Unscripted"
Jan 05, 2009; ... REVIEW "Unscripted" CD by Jo De La Rosa For those who watched the original "Real Housewives of Orange County," it's hard not to recognize the symmetry between cast member Jo De La Rosa's song list on her debut album "Unscripted" and her semi-scripted relationship and drawn-out ...
CALENDAR
Jan 05, 2009; ... BUSINESS ONGOING * "Cable Business Journal" with Richard Reisman Check local listings Guests: Joe Kiani, chairman and CEO of Masimo Corp. * "Inside OC hosted by Rick Reiff (KOCE-TV) Wednesday 7 p.m. and 1 1 :30 p.m. Repeats Thursday 8:30 a.m. Guests: Martha Daniel, local ...
Del Monte Enlists DraftFCB to Stand Out on Pet Aisle
Jan 05, 2009; ... Doner Adds Creative Director With Auto Experience; RoseRyan Goes Quirky With Marketing MEDIA & MARKETING Irvine's DraftFCB has started work on the recently consolidated account for San Francisco-based Del Monte Foods Co.'s pet food and pet treat brands. DraftFCB won ...
Research and Development Space Held Steady in Third Quarter
Jan 05, 2009; ... Accounting for more than 1 7% of Orange County's total industrial square footage, research and development space comprises more than 1,000 buildings encompassing about 42 million square feet. With the economy in a state of reduced customer spending and a tight credit market, the research ...
Only New Thinking Will Save Global Economy
Jan 05, 2009; ... History books will document that the global economy experienced a sudden stop after Sept. 15. In accentuating longstanding structural weaknesses, the manner in which Lehman Brothers failed disrupted the trust that underpins the smooth functioning of market economies. As a result, ...
2009 Set To Rival 2001 Slump for Chipmakers
Jan 12, 2009; ... TECHNOLOGY: Broadcom, others warn; analyst: 'double-digit ugly' 2009 could rank among the worst years ever for chipmakers. A few weeks ago, Stamford, Conn.-based market tracker Gartner Inc. made some bleak pronouncements for an industry accustomed to growth. "Never before ...
Defense Contractors Fear Bailout Fallout
Jan 12, 2009; ... Like many local defense contractors, Eaton Corp. is waiting to see how military spending fares as the incoming Obama administration looks to revive the larger economy. The Cleveland- based company, which has its aero- space headquar- ters in Irvine, makes parts for military planes, ...
Now for Growth
Jan 12, 2009; ... Wall Street Cheers Vaieant Restructuring, Awaits Restarted Growth at Drug Maker J. Michael Pearson sold off global units, cut jobs and acquired companies in his first year at the helm of Aliso Viejo-based drug maker Vaieant Pharmaceuticals International. The effort won cheers on ...
OC Readies Obama Wish Lists; More Intrigue in Irvine
Jan 12, 2009; ... QCInsider OC did not quite go for Barack Obama on Election Day, but local officials are readying wish lists of infrastructure projects they hope to qualify for the incoming president's antic- ipated $800 billion-plus stimulus package. Supe BUI Campbell says the OCTA has $600 million of ...
Luxury Hotels Cut Workers as Meetings, Travelers Dip
Jan 12, 2009; ... The county's luxury coastal hotels have laid off workers and made other cuts amid a downturn in visitors and corporate events that is shaping up to be worse than after the terrorist attacks of 2001 . The hotels, which overlook the ocean and charge $400 to thousands of dollars a night, ...
Practical Electronics Shine at 2009's CES
Jan 12, 2009; ... TECHNOLOGY: Exhibitors tout new recession-friendly products Function trumped flash at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which wrapped up Sunday. Concerns over consumers' willingness to shell out big bucks for the latest and greatest technology cast ...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Jan 12, 2009; ... This past week's news from www.ocbj.com and other sources TECHNOLOGY Anaheim-based Multi-Fineline Electronic Inc. gave a better-than-expected sales outlook for the December quarter and said it plans to buy back shares. M-Flex is expecting to report quarterly sales of $215 million ...
Debt Levels Drive Diverging Nursing Home Stocks
Jan 12, 2009; ... HEALTHCARE: Shares of Sun, Skilled plunge; Ensign holding up Orange County's nursing home companies have parted ways on Wall Street. Since August, Irvine-based Sun Healthcare Group Inc. and Lake Forest's Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. have seen their shares drop more than ...
PEOPLE
Jan 12, 2009; ... Hirings, promotions and other moves at local businesses ACCOUNTING Alan French joined McGladrey & Pullen LLP as a tax partner in the firm's Irvine office. Prior, French was a national director of tax with Deloitte & Touche LLP. He specializes in C-corporation tax returns, ...
Eagle One Turns Old Plastic into Golf Items, Furniture
Jan 12, 2009; ... MANUFACTURING: Irvine Co.'s Pelican Hill one of largest customers Eagle One Golf Products Inc. doesn't just see green on the golf course. Australian native Philip Thompson, founder and president of the Anaheim-based company, said he saw a chance to make golf course products from ...
Foodie Alert: Newport Beach Readies Restaurant Week
Jan 12, 2009; ... Prime Cut Cafe & Wine Bar Opens in Orange; Wang Tcheng Does Chinese, Korean in Anaheim EXECUTIVE DINING This column shares a sad date with New York's famed Rainbow Room Grill perched atop Rockefeller Center and renowned for its fabulous views of Manhattan. It closed ...
Wanted: Best Places to Work
Jan 12, 2009; ... The Business Journal is producing its first list of the best places to work in Orange County in 2009. The list is set to appear in September as part of a special report covering employers that made our ranking. We're now in the process of soliciting employers to take part in our ...
Grubb Sees Sales Up, Leasing Slow in '09
Jan 12, 2009; ... Brokerages are predicting that Orange County will see an uptick in commercial property sales in 2009, after the total value of sales here fell by nearly $6 billion in a slow 2008. That's the good news. Most other indicators point to another year of rising vacancy levels and ...
Mid-Counties Sees Concessions, But Space Still Tight
Jan 12, 2009; ... The Mid-Counties industrial market is strategically situated at the border between Los Angeles and Orange counties. The cities within Orange County are Buena Park, Cypress, La Palma and Los Alamitos, listed in descending order by the size of their industrial base. The cities ...
Scandal!
Jan 12, 2009; ... Local Salacious Cases Bring Out Lawyers' Love-Hate Relationship with Media Sources Lawyers and the media have always had a contentious relationship. But the love-hate affair has intensified lately as blow-by-blow media coverage of local trials and cases has thrown law firms into ...
REAL ESTATE DEALS
Jan 12, 2009; ... Sales and leases of offices, industrial buildings, retail space and apartments SALES Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors, part of Santa Ana-based Grubb & Ellis Co., paid $29.2 million to Sacramento-based Panattoni Development Co. for a 112,000-square-foot industrial building ...
Performing Arts Benefit Concert
Jan 12, 2009; ... About 400 businesspeople and other supporters of the Orange County Performing Arts Center were on hand for the 35th Candlelight Concert last month with Diana Ross. The event raised about $1 million for the arts center in Costa Mesa. The concert was one of the biggest social events of 2008, ...
Correction
Jan 12, 2009; ... In the Dec. 29 column on a Fullerton industrial lease signed by UCI Medical Center, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian should have been cited as the county's, largest ...
Greenlaw Partners Launches Distressed Asset Business
Jan 12, 2009; ... Sperry Van Ness Names New President; Irvine Homebuilder Sells, Leases Back Model Homes REAL ESTATE COMMERCIAL Add Newport Beach-based Greenlaw Partners to the growing list of local companies that are creating businesses to take advantage of the tumult in the commercial ...
Ultra Rich Still Buying, But Discretion Is Watchword
Jan 12, 2009; ... Used Luxury Auto Dealer Phillips Sells Fewer Ferraris, Bentleys, Pushing Secondhand Benzes MARKETPLACE Catering to the ultra wealthy is nothing new. But during a recession, retailers and manufacturers will find new ways to market more of their products to the super rich, ...
AROUND THE COUNTY
Jan 12, 2009; ... Projects, developments and other activity in cities in and around OC ANAHEIM An apartment complex is going up at North Tustin Avenue and the Riverside (91) Freeway. Plans call for 312 apartments, a clubhouse and gym. The project is being built as four levels of apartments on top ...
Legal Entanglements
Jan 12, 2009; ... Landlords Compete for National Law Firms with Concessions, Some Trepidation Law firms arguably are the most coveted type of tenant for high-end office landlords now as companies tied to Wall Street and the housing market have hit the skids. And lucky for local landlords, many law ...
CALENDAR
Jan 12, 2009; ... January 12-21, 2009 BUSINESS ONGOING * "Cable Business Journal" with Richard Reisman Check local listings Guests: Joe Kiani, chairman and CEO of Masimo Corp. * "Inside OC" hosted by Rick Reiff (KOCE-TV) Wednesday 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Repeats Thursday 8:30 a.m ....
Johnny Rockets Puts Advertising Work up for Grabs
Jan 12, 2009; ... OC Weekly Cuts Jobs Amid Classified Ad Loss; Stremicks Pitches Soymilk on National Tour MEDIA & MARKETING Lake Forest-based Johnny Rockets Group Inc. is putting its advertising account up for review. "We're looking at the relevant agencies in Orange County," said ...
Broadcom Inks Deal with Indian Telecom, Cable Co.
Jan 12, 2009; ... Symwave Adds Three Tech Execs to Advisory Board; Vangard Lands $2M in Venture Funds TECHNOLOGY Irvine chipmaker Broadcom Corp. signed a deal to sell its satellite set-top box chips to one of India's biggest telecommunications and cable providers. Broadcom is selling chips ...
Law Landscape
Jan 12, 2009; ... Saturated Local Market Has Some Firms Consolidating, Downsizing; Others Beefing Up Orange County's legal market has changed a lot in the past few years. Some firms with local offices have closed their doors here, merged or downsized. New firms have entered the fray ....
Law Firms Added Lawyers Last Year, See Slow Growth
Jan 12, 2009; ... Orange County's largest law firms saw another year of hiring gains last year, but ongoing economic turmoil could lead to a different story for 2009. The 50 largest law firms based or operating here saw a 4.6% gain in lawyers for a total of 2,177, according to this week's Business Journal ...
Analysts Tout Quality Systems' Growing Power in '09
Jan 12, 2009; ... Medical Research Companies Gain Investor Interest; Tustin Co. Launches Colon Cancer Test HEALTHCARE Quality Systems Inc., an Irvine healthcare software company that's been a Wall Street darling during much of this decade, recently got another love note from the Motley Fool ...
Software Maker Aims to Help Restaurants
Jan 12, 2009; ... Erica Dee Closes Doors, Opens Online; Orange Company Charges Execs to Talk SMALL BUSINESS Los Alamitos-based Altametrics Inc. expects to hit $30 million in sales next year making software for restaurants. The company makes Internet-based software that helps restaurants ...
Some Law Firms Touting Recession-Proof Practice Areas
Jan 12, 2009; ... LAW: Bankruptcy, IP, employment cases rise in economic downturns Work boomed in recent years for lawyers specializing in real estate, finance, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and other areas. But like other service providers, some law firms are having a hard ...
Ask the Experts
Jan 12, 2009; ... Q & A With the economy still in a downward spiral, the law industry is one of the few in a position to benefit from it. Local firms are grabbing new business in bankruptcy litigation and from opportunistic buyers. The Business Journal's Jessica C. Lee talked with partners at the ...
Beckman Confident Amid Hospital Concerns
Jan 19, 2009; ... HEALTHCARE: Recurring sales key; rolling out $220,000 machine Beckman Coulter Inc. seems to have caught something at the hospital. Shares of the Fullerton-based maker of medical testing equipment and supplies were off about 40% last week since September on a market value of $3 ...
Long-Range Vision
Jan 19, 2009; ... Abbott Looks Past AMO's Issues, Bets on Turnaround Abbott Laboratories is making a big bet on aging eyes and blurry vision and is willing to look past Advanced Medical Optics Inc.'s current troubles to do so. Last week, Abbott of suburban Chicago offered $2.8 billion to buy Santa ...
NAMM's Slow Jam
Jan 19, 2009; ... Retailers, exhibitors and performers came to Anaheim last week to hear music and check out products at the International Music Products Association's NAMM show, which wrapped up Sunday. Alicia Keys headlined the show, debuting Buena Park-based Yamaha Corporation of America's AvantGrand ...
KPMG Relocating to Irvine Spectrum
Jan 19, 2009; ... REAL ESTATE: Accounting firm lured by name on building, layout KPMG LLP, Orange County's third-largest accounting firm by employee count, is moving its local operations from Costa Mesa to the Irvine Spectrum. The audit, tax and advisory services firm has signed a 10-year lease to ...
Tyr Launches Gear, Pursues Speedo Suit
Jan 19, 2009; ... Tyr Sport Inc. is looking for a rematch. The Huntington Beach-based swimsuit maker had high hopes going into the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, which served as a televised picture window for the biggest names in athletic apparel to show off their garb. But the games created a grudge ...
GIVING
Jan 19, 2009; ... Fundraisers and charitable donations from companies and people Crevier BMW and Crevier Mini in Santa Ana donated a Mini Cooper car as the featured raffle prize for the Chapman University American Celebration. The Celebration is a Broadway-style, song-and-dance revue performed by Chapman ...
Symwave Taps Advisers, Eyes Q3 Ramp-Up
Jan 19, 2009; ... TECHNOLOGY: Advisory board includes ex-Broadcom executive Laguna Niguel startup Symwave Inc. has assembled its own dream team as its looks to start producing chips later this year. The company, which moved to Orange County from San Diego last year, has hired some technology ...