EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Mike Mason
TOP STORIES
Conexant Systems Inc. said it cut 60 workers, including 25 at its Newport Beach headquarters; Conexant, which has 2,200 workers overall, said the semiconductor industry isn’t rebounding as quickly as it hoped
Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. said it could cut up to 325 mainly power and energy workers in OC amid the company’s difficulty in lining up new engineering projects; the cuts are the “worst-case scenario” for Fluor, which said deals inked in the next 60 days could mitigate the layoffs;
Fluor power project: company could cut workers if energy work doesn’t pick up (right).
Meanwhile, Fluor said it won a deal to design and build Raytheon Corp.’s new 150,000-square-foot headquarters in Waltham, Mass.; work on the project is set to begin this month and wrap by the fourth quarter next year.
ENERGY
Anaheim will give up management of its municipal utility and turn over control to the California Independent System Operator beginning Jan. 1; Riverside, Azusa and Banning also are giving up their power grids.
TECHNOLOGY
Shares of Irvine-based Microsemi Corp. fell 13% to 6.15 after the company said sales for the first quarter would be down 3% to 8% from the fourth quarter; Microsemi’s fourth-quarter operating profit fell 82% to $1.3 million vs. a year ago on a 14% decline in sales to $49.2 million Costa Mesa-based Ceradyne Inc. received a $7 million order for ceramic body armor for elite U.S. military personnel Best Software Inc. said it cut six workers at its Irvine headquarters after combining two product development units; Best has 550 employees in OC Irvine-based MAI Systems Corp. said it fired auditor KPMG International; no reason was given for the dismissal; meanwhile, MAI said its unaudited third-quarter results included a 58% decline in operating profit to $439,000 on a 6.4% drop in sales to $5.7 million Santa Ana-based SRS Labs Inc., which has yet to hire an auditor after Deloitte & Touche LLP resigned in October, said its unaudited third-quarter results included an operating profit of $645,694 vs. a loss of $951,538 a year ago on a 52% jump in sales to $5.4 million.
HEALTHCARE
Costa Mesa-based Ribapharm Inc. said it has appealed a preliminary injunction prohibiting it from using the name “Ribapharm”; Ribapharm, which spun out of Costa Mesa-based ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. in April, said RiboPharm Inc. has alleged trademark infringement over the use of its name Irvine-based medical device maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp. said it will fund its gene research through next year; Edwards is studying whether it can use a gene related to blood-vessel growth to treat heart failure Irvine-based Endocare Inc. said it will appeal the Nasdaq stock exchange’s plan to delist the medical device maker’s shares after the company delayed its third-quarter earnings; shares of the company will trade under the “ENDOE” symbol until Nasdaq sorts out the claims Irvine-based NeoTherapeutics Inc. said it issued 356,926 shares of common stock to five vendors to pay outstanding bills; meanwhile, the drug developer said Alvin Glasky, its founder and former chairman, chief executive and chief scientific officer until his retirement in August, stepped down from the board of directors.
GOVERNMENT
Vista-based FCI Constructors Inc. sued the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agencies for underestimating the amount of soil that would have to be removed to build its part of the Foothill (241) Toll Road; FCI said its costs were higher than expected The University of California, Irvine is one of the first U.S. customers for Toyota’s hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles; UCI and the University of California, Davis, will pay $10,000 a month under a 30-month lease for Toyota’s Highlander sport-utility vehicle; the universities will use the vehicles to study gas alternatives The Santa Ana Unified School District is taking Tustin to court, alleging city officials are reneging on a $60 million payment to settle Santa Ana Unified’s claims to portions of the shuttered Tustin Marine base; Santa Ana has been barred from developing the 1,600-acre base until a Dec. 2 hearing.
REAL ESTATE
Orange County Supervisors approved plans for a 795-home development on Nuevo Energy Co.’s 790-acre Tonner Hills property above Brea.
FINANCE
Irvine-based New Century Financial Corp. said investors have pledged to buy $1.5 billion in subprime mortgage loans that the company has yet to make; for the year, New Century said it should make about $12 billion in loans, three times as much as last year; meanwhile, the company said it has bought back 1 million shares of its stock and plans to buy another million shares, which were trading at 19.75 late last week.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
A jury awarded Newport Beach-based sports agent Leigh Steinberg $44.6 million after finding a former associate, David Dunn, and his sports agency Athletes First conspired to steal clients from Steinberg & Moorad Inc.; half of the award was for compensatory damages with the other half punitive; lawyers for Dunn said they would appeal while Steinberg’s legal team said they planned to petition the court for up to $70 million more Paul Naude, president of Billabong International Ltd.’s U.S. unit, was named to the company’s board of directors; meanwhile, Derek O’Neill, general manager of Billabong’s European operations was named chief executive of the Australian surfwear company after its former top chief resigned following criticism over his sale of 8 million shares Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. said it will pay $93 million in cash and stock to buy two of its overseas brand owners, Australia’s Ug Manufacturing Co. and Quiksilver Japan K.K. Shares of Foothill Ranch-based retailer The Wet Seal Inc. rose 17% to 11.75 after the company said its would post strong sales in November; meanwhile, the company said its third-quarter operating loss was $4.6 million vs. a $9.5 million gain a year ago on a 1.6% decline in sales to $144.5 million … Aliso Viejo-based RemedyTemp Inc. said its operating income for the quarter ended Sept. 29 fell 82% to $403,000 on a 5.7% increase in sales to $125.4 million.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Up: Orange County’s housing market in October, with the number of homes sold up 9.2% to 4,267 vs. a year ago and the median price up 19% to $369,000.
