Anaheim-based Fisker Automotive Inc. hired a private investigator to examine and test one of its luxury-hybrid sedans after it caught fire in Woodside, Calif., on Aug. 10. Fisker hired Corona-based Pacific Rim Investigative Services Group Inc. to analyze the second known fire involving its Karma, which retails for $103,000. Fisker has delivered more than 1,000 Karmas since its 2011 introduction (see related story, page 4).
Pacific Mercantile Bancorp reported $5.8 million in net income in the second quarter. Its quarterly profit was up nearly five times from the same period last year. The Costa Mesa-based bank reported an almost five-fold increase in noninterest income to $9.1 million. It had a 5% decline in net interest income to $8.1 million. The bank set aside $1.9 million more in provisions for loan losses compared with a year ago.
Irvine-based Laguna Strategic Advisors LLC appointed Ed Fuller as president, tapping the former head of Marriott International Inc. Fuller was a founding partner in Laguna Strategic.
The Orange County Auditor-Controller gave Anaheim officials until Aug. 31 to decide whether to add a special tax assessment to fund a Downtown Community Management District. The Santa Ana City Council has been unable to muster a quorum on the downtown improvement district due to council absences and abstentions.
San Clemente-based medical device maker appointed Altura Medical Inc. G. Ray Martin as chief executive. He arrives from the same post at Mountain View-based NovoStent Corp. Martin also previously worked as vice president of business development at Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific Corp.
Irvine-based biotech company Antigen Discovery Inc. received a $2.5 million federal grant for malaria vaccine research. The three-year development grant is through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.
Powerwave Technologies Inc., which makes cellular base-station equipment for wireless networks, posted a second-quarter loss of $42.6 million. That compared to year-earlier quarterly profit of $7 million. The Santa Ana-based company reported a 75% drop in revenue to $42.6 million amid a slowdown in equipment spending by large telecoms. Its shares traded near a 52-week low in the wake of the results.
Mobile-services provider Decision Point Systems in Irvine bought mobile-apps developer Illume Mobile Software of Oklahoma in a $1 million in cash-and-stock deal closed July 31. Terms included an additional $500,000 in cash and stock that will come due if certain revenue targets are reached.
Irvine-based Red Digital Cinema Camera Co. recently opened sales and support centers in China. The authorized dealers offer Red customers repair services, product demonstrations, technical support, data recovery and other services.
Recently retired mixed-martial arts fighter Jacob “Tito” Ortiz, who held the Ultimate Fighting Championship light-heavyweight title for three years, has started a sports-management agency in Huntington Beach. The launch of Primetime 360 Entertainment & Sports Management Inc. comes about a month after Ortiz was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. George Prajin, an attorney and longtime friend of Ortiz’, is a partner in the agency, which will seek to represent mixed martial arts fighters as well as other athletes and artists.
ECONOMIC INDICATOR
UP: Orange County home buying, which surged 26% from a year earlier in July. Some 3,087 homes were sold in the county, for the highest tally since July 2009, San Diego-based DataQuick said. The average price of homes sold in July was 3% higher than a year earlier, at $450,000. There was an 8% drop in home sales from the previous month, reflecting a typical seasonal decline between June and July. Foreclosed homes made up 3% of sales in July, the lowest level since October 2007. There were 319 foreclosures in OC last month, 47% fewer than a year earlier and the lowest monthly total since June 2007.