EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro Inc. said it swung to an operating profit of $20.8 million in the third quarter, versus a loss of $2.6 million a year ago. The tech bellwether said sales fell 7% to $5.2 billion in the period … Newport Beach-based Jazz Semiconductor Inc. said it plans to invest in a Shanghai chip plant operated by China’s Hua Hong Group.
HEALTHCARE
Lake Forest-based Cooper Cos. said it plans to buy Williston, Vt.-based Avalon Medical Corp. for $10 million. Avalon distributes female sterilization devices … Shares of Irvine-based Micro Therapeutics Inc. fell 19% to 4 after a European court ruled that one of its devices violates patents held by the University of California and Boston Scientific Corp.
REAL ESTATE
Irvine-based Standard Pacific Corp. said its income before taxes nearly tripled in the third quarter to $94.8 million, versus a year ago, on a 35% jump in homebuilding revenue to $623.9 million. The homebuilder said sales were up in five of seven states in which it operates, with demand in Colorado and Texas being sluggish. Standard Pacific said the average price of its homes sold fell 3% to $298,000. The average price for its homes sold in California was flat at $500,000.
FINANCE
Venture capital investing in OC companies in the third quarter fell to $63.6 million, the lowest quarterly amount in five years and about half of the $123 million startups received in the second quarter, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association.
GOVERNMENT
Supervisors gave OC’s interim chief executive officer, Jim Ruth, another one-year contract as the county’s top officer. Ruth is a former Anaheim city manager who came out of retirement in January to take the vacant chief executive post. His annual salary is $200,000 … The Orange County Transportation Authority approved a $200 million refinancing of the Riverside (91) Express Lanes. Officials say the move will save about $22 million in interest payments before the bonds mature in 2030 and will free funds for lane improvements.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
The Anaheim City Council this week plans to consider a management shift at the Arrowhead Pond from bankrupt Covanta Energy, formerly Ogden Services, to a group headed by Pond general manager Tim Ryan and backed by Henry and Susan Samueli … Knott’s Berry Farm lost a suit against Togo Japan, the maker of the Windjammer roller coaster, which Knott’s said had problems. Knott’s sought $17 million from Togo … Shares of Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. fell 9% after the engineering company said its third-quarter profit before taxes fell 12% to $65.1 million, versus a year ago, on a 13% decline in sales to $2.1 billion. Gains in its government unit were offset by a 47% decline in revenue from Fluor’s power plant building operation. Meanwhile, Fluor elected Admiral Joseph Wilson Prueher to its board of directors. Prueher is a consulting professor at Stanford University’s Institute of International Studies, a senior advisor on The Preventive Defense Project and former ambassador to China from 1999 to 2001 … Irvine-based Stussy Inc. won a $650,000 copyright suit against Atlanta-based Crosspoint Southeast Inc. Stussy claimed Crosspoint was illegally making clothing under its name in Asia, while Crosspoint said it bought a license for the Stussy name in South America. That license was later found to be a fraud.
