EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Mike Mason
TOP STORY
The state Assembly OK’d a $94 billion budget that won’t raise sales or income taxes but does include a $4 billion hike in vehicle registration fees. The budget includes up to $11 billion in borrowed funds, putting off a decision on how to deal with a big part of California’s deficit until next year. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group said the state’s bond rating would remain near “junk” status until it makes progress on the budget deficit.
TECHNOLOGY
Irvine-based Quest Software Inc. was hit by five class-action shareholder lawsuits late last week. The suits claim the software maker made false and misleading statements prior to its July 24 announcement that an adding error in its accounting system had inflated past earnings results. Shares of Quest fell 18% on the news … Second-quarter sales for Santa Ana-based tech bellwether Ingram Micro Inc. fell 3% to $5.17 billion, versus a year ago, amid slow sales of computers and other products. Ingram’s operating profit doubled to $27.3 million … Japan’s Sony Corp. said it plans to close its 45-worker electronics repair operation in Irvine … Irvine-based eMachines Inc. said its new laptop computers would have built-in wireless Internet access.
HEALTHCARE
Irvine-based Edwards Lifesciences Corp. said it’s cutting 2.5%, or 125, of its 5,000 companywide workers. The medical device maker will take an $8 million to $10 million charge for the job cuts … Costa Mesa-based ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it would scrap its offer to buy the 20% of Ribapharm Inc. it doesn’t own if enough shareholders didn’t tender their shares for sale this past Friday by 2 p.m. Earlier in the week about 25% of the 30 million shares it doesn’t own were offered for sale, but ICN needs at least 50% of the shares to make the deal … An arbitrator said ICN and Ribapharm should receive past royalties for ribavirin sales from Schering-Plough Corp.’s indigent care program … Meanwhile, Ribapharm said its second-quarter operating profit fell 26% to $37.3 million, versus a year ago, on a 21% decline in sales to $52 million. Ribapharm cited more competition for its ribavirin drug for the fall in sales … Shares of Irvine-based Cardiac Science Inc. jumped 30% to 3.4 after the company said it signed a deal with General Electric Co., which will sell Cardiac Science’s defibrillators and monitors under the GE name in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and other international markets.
REAL ESTATE
P & D; Consultants Inc. of Orange released its draft environmental impact report for developer Michael Harrah’s proposed 37-story One Broadway Plaza office building in Santa Ana. A 45-day public review of the report, which says the project would create jobs but worsen congestion in the area, has been set … San Clemente-based Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. said it sold the Hampton Inn in Pueblo, Colo., to Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Summit Group, for $2.5 million … Irvine-based homebuilder Standard Pacific Corp. said its income before taxes in the second quarter rose 60% to $68.9 million, versus a year ago, on a 16% increase in homebuilding revenue to $515.2 million. Standard Pacific raised its third-quarter profit expectations on strong orders … Newport Beach-based William Lyon Homes Inc. and Miami-based Lennar Corp. broke ground on a 1,900-home development at the former Tustin Marine Corps base.
FINANCE
Los Angeles-based B. Riley & Co. said it bought Irvine-based investment bank Friend & Co. for an undisclosed amount. B. Riley said it will keep Friend’s operations in Irvine … The Orange County Transportation Authority said it’s considering a plan to refinance about $135 million in debt for a stretch of toll road along the Riverside (91) Express Lanes it bought earlier this year from the California Private Transportation Co. About $12 million could be saved in the next 26 years if the refinancing goes through.
GOVERNMENT
The city of Huntington Beach lost an appeals court ruling and must repay property owners $27 million for a special tax it has been levying for 25 years but was found unconstitutional. Huntington Beach’s City Council is set to decide this week on whether to appeal the ruling to the California Supreme Court … The Coast Community College District is set to consider 10 bids for its Huntington Beach-based KOCE-TV station at an Aug. 20 board meeting. Bidders include area PBS stations and Costa Mesa’s Trinity Broadcasting Network … The University of California, Irvine, said it received $235.6 million in research grants in the 2002-03 year, up 11% from the prior year … John Wayne Airport will no longer offer electric cart luggage carriers at its terminal lots, saving the airport about $590,000 this year. The airport said it’s negotiating with Ontario’s Skyline Pedicab Co. to provide a link between the airport and parking lots.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Shares of Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc. hit a record high of 56 after analysts raised earnings expectations for the company’s fourth quarter. Corinthian said its student count grew 26% to 43,229 through June 30, versus a year ago, with its same-school enrollment increasing 17%.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Up: Venture capital raised by Orange County companies in the second quarter, up 25% to $118.8 million, versus a year ago, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association.
Up: Sales of homes priced at $1 million and higher, up 39% to 721 in the second quarter, versus a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.
