I’m the new guy in Orange County, and I’ll be covering technology here as the Business Journal’s news editor.
But I’m not completely new. As a kid, mom would drive us down to Bolsa Chica beach when the air in the Inland Empire got too hot and thick.
Fast forward to the late 1980s: I’d pull my beat up old Toyota into the parking lot at California State University, Fullerton, to bust my best friend, Chris, out of something like bio-chem class. We’d high-tail it to Laguna Beach for a day of surfing, followed by a cheap burrito-and-beer dinner at El Farolito in old town Placentia.
We and our boards were familiar with most stretches of beach here. I still have the scars from a few run-ins with the Newport Jetty.
It’s all rushing back to me as I settle into my new digs after six years as business editor at the Daily News up in Los Angeles. Some things are familiar,Disney, which is based near my last office, has a clear presence here.
And as I’m writing this, a former coworker has walked by to start her first day in this office. Darlene Alilain, a former news desk editor at the Daily News, just joined the Business Journal as graphic artist. She’ll help lay out the paper each week.
A lot of other things aren’t familiar yet, and that’s where I definitely feel like the new guy. I’m counting on you to help. Drop me a line,my email address is anderson@ocbj.com,and help me get acclimated with tech and the larger business world here.
Oh, best-friend Chris since has left the area. So chances are, I’ll actually be at work as I’m supposed to be.
Taking Stock
Irvine’s Broadcom Corp. said it has avoided a feared buildup of unsold chips, according to Chief Executive Scott McGregor.
The company is set to end the year with “an ideal level” of chip stockpiles, McGregor told the Lehman Brothers Global Technology Conference earlier this month.
Broadcom saw lead times building in the early part of the year, some as long as 20 weeks, he said.
Starting in the third quarter, Broadcom began adjusting its inventory, trimming $55 million worth.
“I can tell you that we still believe we’re on track to close out Q4 with inventories approximating an ideal level for us,” McGregor said.
That’s seen as good news as the chip sector grapples with an oversupply. Predicting demand is about as easy as predicting traffic on the Riverside (91) Freeway.
Investors have been worried about stockpiles of unsold chips after the customers did a lot of their ordering early in the year, then cut back in the spring.
The concerns were strong enough for American Technology Research Inc. analyst Shaw Wu to downgrade Broadcom from “neutral” to “sell” in October citing an inventory buildup.
“We believe inventories still need to be worked down,” Wu wrote a couple months back.
Emulex Buyback
Costa Mesa-based Emulex Corp. has to do something with all that cash.
The maker of networking electronics said it plans to buy back up to $150 million of its stock in the next couple of years.
The company plans to draw on its cash pile to finance the share buyback. Emulex is sitting on a bundle of it: In the quarter ended Oct. 1, Emulex had more than $635 million in cash and investments.
Emulex has made some acquisitions this year, though they’ve only dented its war chest.
In October, Emulex acquired Roseville-based Sierra Logic Inc. for about $180 million. Earlier this year, it paid $39 million for San Jose’s Aarohi Communications Inc.
|
|
Powerwave’s Edwards, left, Buschur with Nasdaq officials: 10 years on exchange |
Powerwave at Nasdaq
Santa Ana-based Powerwave Technologies Inc., a maker of amplifiers and other gear for wireless networks, marked its 10th year trading on Nasdaq by ringing the exchange’s opening bell on Dec. 6. Executive Chairman Bruce Edwards and Chief Executive Ron Buschur were on hand at Nasdaq’s Times Square studio.
Quick Cabs
Just in time for those late and wild New Years parties, Irvine-based Boost Mobile LLC, part of Sprint Nextel Corp., has come up with a quick way of finding the closest cab.
Boost users can dial #Taxi from their phone and calls are routed to the first available cab company, avoiding busy signals. The service works whether you’re at a friend’s party across town or in Times Square watching the ball drop.
The service on Boost’s pay-as-you-go phones will be free for New Years Eve. The cost after that is $1.29 per call, plus airtime.
