Compiled by Mike Mason
Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. said the U.S. International Trade Commission is looking into whether rival Qualcomm Inc. has engaged in unfair trade practices. The inquiry is the result of a 54-page complaint Broadcom filed in May asking the ITC to bar U.S. imports of products made in Taiwan. Meanwhile, Broadcom said it will pay $150 million as a part of a proposed settlement of a class action shareholder lawsuit. The suit, brought in 2002 by Minnesota State Board of Investment, was one of two that charged Broadcom with boosting sales and profits by improperly accounting for expenses Aliso Viejo-based SiliconSystems Inc. has closed a second round of funding for an undisclosed amount … Interplay Entertainment Corp. said it needs financing to continue. The game maker, which closed its Irvine headquarters last year, said it lost $216,000 on sales of $793,000 in the first quarter. Interplay is a unit of France’s bankrupt Titus Interactive SA Irvine-based Archos said it inked a deal with Englewood, Colo.-based EchoStar Communications Corp. to develop digital video recorder technology. EchoStar plans to invest $9 million in Archos, a unit of France’s Archos SA, as part of the pact Irvine-based Island Pacific Inc. said it plans to lay off 60 workers as part of an ongoing cost-cutting program.
Costa Mesa-based Valeant Pharma-
ceuticals International said it has struck a pact with Irvine’s Allergan Inc. to distribute Botox in Hungary starting next month and in Poland in September. Botox, a muscle relaxant best known for smoothing wrinkles, is Allergan’s flagship drug. Terms weren’t disclosed Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach named Dr. Richard Afable as its new chief executive. He is set to replace longtime Hoag boss Michael Stephens, who retires Aug. 31 Irvine-based Endocare Inc. said it would pay $750,001 to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The deal is preliminary and still must be approved by regulators and a federal court judge.
The city of Santa Ana approved Nexus Development Corp.’s plan to build three 25-story condominium towers at MacArthur Place South. The 791 condos are set for Main Street and MacArthur Boulevard Tustin approved a plan by Miami-based Lennar Corp. and Newport Beach-based William Lyon Homes to build 1,542 homes and condos at the former Marine base A special committee formed by William Lyon Homes said the chairman’s offer to take the company private is inadequate Texas developers Hines and Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. said they plan to build a 12-story, 260,000-square-foot office building on a 1.2-acre parcel in Irvine. Construction on the building is set to begin next year and be finished in 2007 Irvine-based developer SunCal Cos. said it paid $197 million to Lusk Co. and Oaktree Capital for San Clemente’s 248-acre Marblehead Coastal parcel. SunCal plans to build 313 homes, offices, stores and park land on the site Irvine’s New Century Financial Corp. outlined plans to move its headquarters to a planned 20-story office tower at Park Place in Irvine in 2007. The subprime lender signed a lease for 190,000 square feet with Los Angeles-based Maguire Properties Inc. Maguire said law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher plans to take 60,000 square feet at the site. Maguire is expected to start construction on the tower later this year and finish in spring 2007 … Colliers Seeley International Inc. took over leasing from Grubb & Ellis Co. at the struggling Triangle Square mall in Costa Mesa. Grubb will continue to manage the mall.
A report found the Orange County Employees Retirement System is underfunded by $2.3 billion, about $1 billion more than previously believed, according to a consultant. The system’s board has asked the county’s actuary to study the report John Wayne Airport officials said passenger traffic in May jumped 9.2% to 831,462, versus a year earlier. Takeoffs and landings fell 2.6% to 31,003 The Orange County District Attorney’s Office got a 10% boost in funding to $1,944,185 to combat what it calls rampant workers’ compensation fraud here.
The Irvine Company said it wouldn’t renew the lease of the Crazy Horse Restaurant and Nightclub at the Spectrum Center. The Irvine Co. said it signed a lease with Old Navy for the 22,000-square-foot space at the mall Cleugh’s Frozen Foods Inc., a Buena Park seller of organic strawberries and other frozen food, said it’s being bought by Canada’s SunOpta Inc. for an undisclosed price … Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. said the company’s Caribbean subsidiary received an unfavorable jury verdict that could cost $60 million. Developer Humphrey’s Cayman Ltd. had sued Fluor … Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc. said it sees its profits for the quarter ending June 30 at nearly $12 million, down from an earlier forecast of about $19 million. Corinthian blamed the revision on lower enrollment at its schools, which offer degrees in healthcare, business, criminal justice, technology and other fields … Aliso Viejo-based KleenAir Systems Inc. said it won a three-year, $10 million pact to sell auto emission control devices in China.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Down: Orange County’s jobs outlook, with the county expected to see employment growth of 1.7% in 2005 and 1.2% in 2006, down from 2.2% last year, according to a Chapman University forecast.
