EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
TOP STORIES
The Boeing Co. said it will merge its Seal Beach Space and Communications operations with its St. Louis-based military aircraft and missile systems business into a new unit, Integrated Defense Systems, with $23 billion in yearly revenue and about 77,000 workers; Jim Albaugh, head of Space and Communications, was named chief executive of Integrated Defense; Boeing also said its Seal Beach operations will be the home of an unnamed homeland defense program Shares of Costa Mesa-based ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. slumped 53% to 9.30 after the company said its second-quarter profit wouldn’t meet expectations and an inventory foul-up resulted in a glut of ICN drugs on the market; interim chief executive Robert O’Leary said the company’s past sales figures were “clean,” but the company was reviewing its financial relationships and determining whether severance packages for ousted executives such as Milan Panic should be legally challenged.
ENERGY
California went into a Stage 2 power alert for the first time since last year as residents turned to air conditioners to cool off from the state’s high temperatures; despite the alert, state officials say blackouts are unlikely this summer Meanwhile, federal regulators almost doubled the energy price cap for Western states to help lower the risk of blackouts.
TECHNOLOGY
Irvine-based Quest Software Inc. is being sued by Computer Associates International Inc., which accuses Quest and four workers of stealing software source code the four developed while working for a company that Computer Associates subsequently bought … Newport Beach-based Conexant Systems Inc. spun off its imaging chip business as a private company with about $25 million a year in revenue; the company, named Pictos Technologies Inc. will be based in Newport Beach with about 100 workers, including 85 from Conexant and 15 from San Francisco-based Zing Network Inc.; Pictos has $17 million in funding from Menlo Park-based Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and others Irvine-based Lantronix Inc. said the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating events leading up to the company’s recent restatement of financial results Tustin-based Scantron Corp. plans to buy privately held San Diego-based EdVision Corp. for $29 million; Scantron, a unit of Decatur, Ga.-based John H. Harland Co., said the buy would add about $13 million in yearly revenue.
HEALTHCARE
Irvine-based NeoTherapeutics Inc. said two preclinical studies showed that its Neotrofin drug improved motor functions in rats with Parkinson’s disease; meanwhile, the company said it raised $1.1 million through the sale of about 6.5 million common shares.
GOVERNMENT
The Navy says it will auction the former El Toro Marine base land as a whole, or in as many as six parcels, depending on interest; it also said the land sale could happen before Irvine annexes the property, though the sales wouldn’t be closed until after annexation; details of the sale are expected to be released July 23 the University of California, Irvine, which ranked No. 66 in research funding among U.S. universities last year, said it took in a record $212 million in research money in the past 12 months The Irvine Company suggested that Riverside build a 10-mile road alongside the Riverside (91) Freeway between the Corona (I-15) Freeway and the Eastern (241) toll road to help ease traffic congestion; Riverside officials have proposed building a tunnel through the Santa Ana mountains to relieve heavy traffic along the corridor Cypress officials say they will challenge a petition urging the city not to use eminent domain to seize 18 acres from the Cottonwood Christian Center for a proposed retail complex.
REAL ESTATE
Orange County Assessor Webster Guillory said the value of taxable property in the county is $265 billion, up 8.4% from last year; Anaheim passed Irvine for the county’s No. 1 spot, with assessed property values of $25.4 billion, up 15.9% Irvine-based Option One Mortgage Corp. signed a $32 million, seven-year lease for 246,000 square feet of space at the Irvine Spectrum; Option One, which has about 1,100 workers in Irvine, now has 426,000 square feet at the Spectrum Defend the Bay filed a lawsuit claiming the environmental impact report for Irvine’s proposed 7,700-acre, 12,300-home Northern Sphere development was inadequate.
FINANCE
A judge OK’d bankrupt Santa Ana-based First Alliance Mortgage Co.’s plan to liquidate its assets; creditors and borrowers still have to vote on the plan, with hearings set for September Santa Ana-based First American Corp. said it will take an $8 million second-quarter charge to reflect the decline in value of its $16.5 million WorldCom Inc. bond holdings.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
The Walt Disney Co. named Tony Bruno to oversee three hotels in Anaheim as general manager of the Disneyland Resort hotels; meanwhile, Disney named three new hotel managers for its hotels here: Hee-Won Lim at the Disneyland Hotel, Terry Furr at the Grand Californian and Marcy Tanner at the paradise Pier Hotel Santa Ana-based GeoLogistics Corp. tapped William J. Flynn as its new chief executive after Robert Arovas said he is leaving “to pursue other opportunities” Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. said its June sales were higher than expected and that it would beat its second-quarter earnings estimates by 20% Spartanburg, S.C.-based Advantica Rest-aurant Group sold its Irvine-based restaurant chains Coco’s and Carrows to creditors for $32.5 million as part of a bankruptcy deal Foothill Ranch-based Oakley Inc. said it plans to add nine more Oakley shops at Parisian department stores and 20 more at Federated-owned stores by the end of the year Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. said its British unit won a $113 million contract to build a research and development facility in Kent, England for New York-based Pfizer Inc. Irvine-based Palace Entertainment Inc. bought Raging Waters in San Dimas and 16 other parks and entertainment centers across the country from Jacksonville-based Alfa Smartparks Inc.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Down:
The OC manufacturing sector, according to the Chapman University purchasing managers index, which fell to 49.9 in the second quarter from 57.7 in the first quarter. A reading below 50 signals contraction.
Down:
OC housing affordability in May, according to the California Association of Realtors, which said 22% of county households could afford a median-priced home of $321,000, vs. 29% a year ago.
