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Friday March 28, 3:14 pm ET
Ceradyne Director Milton L. Lohr Exercises Options for 3,900 Shares
NEW YORK (AP) -- A director at Ceradyne Inc., which makes ceramic parts and products for defense applications, exercised options for 3,900 shares of common stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday.
In a Form 4 filed with the SEC, Milton L. Lohr reported he exercised options for the shares Tuesday for $3.22 apiece and then sold the same number of them the same day for $31.02 to $31.12 apiece.
Insiders file Form 4s with the SEC to report transactions in their companies' shares. Open market purchases and sales must be reported within two business days of the transaction.
Ceradyne is based in Costa Mesa, Calif.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080328/ceradyne_insider_transactions.html?.v=1
New article in Electronic Design magazine
Consider Your Materials Carefully In Microprocessor And ASIC Design
Mark A. Occhionero | ED Online ID #18442 | March 27, 2008
Article Rating: Not Rated
Microprocessor and ASIC designers must address the thermal and mechanical protection of IC die while considering system cost and reliability. Lids and heatsinks are common solutions for mechanical protection.
To ensure reliability, designers seek to minimize die junction temperature and often consider high thermal conductivity to be the most important attribute of lid material. Yet thermal performance and reliability hinges on other factors: match or mismatch of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the lid and assembly materials, lid stiffness/flatness, weight, dimensional tolerances, and package design.
THERMAL MANAGEMENT
Thermal management techniques provide adequate thermal dissipation without adding mechanical stress to the IC from thermal expansion differences between the IC, lid, substrate, interface materials, and other materials in the package.
The most common lid materials for microprocessors and ASICs are copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), and aluminum silicon carbide (AlSiC). With a thermal conductivity value around 400 W/mK at room temperature, copper has the highest thermal conductivity of available materials. The thermal conductivity of AlSiC and wrought aluminum are 190 and 200 W/ mK, respectively (Fig. 1).
Designers must also consider thermal cycling issues associated with the CTE values of the die and lid as well other combinations. CTE generally isn’t an issue with a die size less than 5 mm and heat flux less than 10 W/cm2. As die size and heat flux increase, CTE differences between lid, die, lid flatness, and weight have a significant effect on thermal performance, and choosing a lid material with a CTE compatible with the die becomes important.
Compatible lid material CTE values will reduce die assembly flexing and distortions during thermal cycling. Comparing average CTE values of lid and common die materials at 150°C, AlSiC most closely matches gallium-based IC materials (Fig. 2). A solder connection between lid and die yields maximum thermal dissipation in flip-chip applications.
The slightly higher CTE of AlSiC puts the die in slight compression during assembly and thermal cycling. However, higher CTE materials may impart catastrophic tensile forces on the IC with rising temperature. In any event, the closer CTE match of AlSiC will minimize package distortions during assembly and thermal cycling.
With twice the CTE of AlSiC, copper incurs greater system flexing, though it does have a higher thermal conductivity. Aluminum, with a 23-ppm/°C CTE, is unsuitable for high-power large applications due to the CTE mismatch.
MATERIAL DENSITY
Another consideration is lid material density (Fig. 3). Density (weight) is not a thermal property, but can influence die protection during assembly and service. Consider the weight per solder ball of the IC. During assembly, high lid weight can deform solder balls during soldering (material creep). It also can potentially cause shorts between the balls.
In high-speed automated assembly, lid weight poses significant influence on package stress during acceleration/deceleration assembly shifts. Lid weight also affects shock and vibration resistance and stress state due to package orientation during service. These situations favor materials with lighter weight. Weight becomes more important for larger assemblies with lids larger than 40 mm2.
LARGE ASSEMBLIES
As systems become larger, the combination of lid material, shape, stiffness, flatness, and dimensional tolerances becomes as important as CTE and thermal conductivity values. Stiffness and dimensional tolerances affect the lid’s fit to the die.
The cavity depth of the lid is important in minimizing the gap between the die and lid. This depth, somewhat dependent upon lid flexibility, must be large enough to protect the die. For stiffer material, a shallower depth is acceptable, as stiffness will ensure no distortions of the lid during assembly, heatsink attachment, and/or service.
Lid-material stiffness increases with lid thickness, but this may not be acceptable due to weight constraints (Fig. 4). With a less stiff lid, designers may need to impose tighter dimensions on cavity depth to maintain an acceptable bond line thickness. However, tighter dimensional tolerances increase the cost of manufacturing the lid.
MANUFACTURABILITY
Manufacturing processes and costs are additional considerations in choosing lid material. Each material has a preferential manufacturing process for lowest cost, but designers should consider full system costs, including the rate of quality.
A low-cost manufacturing process, stamping lids from sheet stock material is the conventional method for manufacturing copper and aluminum lids, restricting them to primarily 2D shapes and with limited 3D features. Stamped aluminum lids target low-power applications only due to aluminum’s high CTE and modest thermal conductivity. When die is small or power low, stamped copper lids can provide a cost-effective solution.
AlSiC uses a slightly more expensive casting process, but provides greater geometrical shape capabilities. In addition to its CTE compatibility with IC materials, AlSiC also allows larger lids due to lighter weight and higher stiffness.
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http://electronicdesign.com/Articles/ArticleID/18442/18442.html
---
Mark A. Occhionero
Mark A. Occhionero is senior scientist, marketing and technical sales VP, CPS Technologies. Since 2003, he has concentrated on technical product development of AlSiC for thermal management for insulated gate bipolar transistors, microprocessors, and structural material applications of composite materials.
Email address: mocchionero@alsic.com
ITT Awarded $78.2 Million Air Force Contract to Sell Electronic Warfare Systems to Pakistan
WASHINGTON (AP) -- ITT Corp. has won a $78.2 million Air Force contract to supply Pakistan with electronic warfare systems for use aboard F-16 fighter jets, the Defense Department said late Tuesday. The purchase will be made under the Foreign Military Sales Program.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080318/itt_pakistan_contract.html?.v=1
Earl G. Graves retired from the Board of Directors of AMR Corporation and American Airlines, Inc., effective March 31, 2007
www.sec.gov
Saturday, Mar 29, 2008, Page 11
National Semiconductor Corp chief executive officer Brian Halla said on Thursday that demand for mobile phones is holding up even as the economy slows.
"So far, people keep buying," Halla told Bloomberg Television. "There is caution out there, especially when kids have to face a choice of taking five dollars and putting it towards a new cellphone or buying one gallon of gas."
National Semiconductor, the maker of chips for devices such as Apple Inc's iPhone, gets more than a third of its sales from mobile-phone companies.
A tighter credit market and record oil prices hadn't hurt wireless demand yet, Halla said. That contrasts with predictions this month from Texas Instruments Inc and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd.
Texas Instruments, which is the second-largest maker of chips for mobile phones after Qualcomm Inc, cut its sales and profit forecast on March 10, citing slowing demand for phones that download music and access the Internet. The next week, Sony Ericsson, the world's fourth-largest handset maker, said first-quarter earnings and revenue would fall because of slower handset sales.
Halla, 61, is facing stalling revenue growth. On March 6, he forecast fiscal fourth-quarter sales of up to US$460 million, a 1 percent gain from a year earlier.
Halla, a former Intel Corp executive who has led National Semiconductor for more than a decade, said on Thursday that the company's revenue from mobile phones is a good indicator of the health of the overall economy.
"A lot of people got together and said that the sky was falling in," Halla said. "We watched the cellphone market and people kept buying them."
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2008/03/29/2003407569
On March 19, 2008, the Board of Directors of National Instruments Corporation (the "Company") adopted and approved the performance criteria and associated potential award for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 for the Company's named executive officers who participate in the Annual Incentive Program ("AIP"), which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 filed to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 27, 2006. The AIP provides for the payment of cash bonuses to the Company's officers (including named executive officers but excluding the Company's President), Business and Technology Fellows, and Research and Development Fellows based upon the attainment of certain performance criteria established by the Board of Directors and the Company's President. The AIP is intended to increase shareholder value and the success of the Company by providing incentive and reward for accomplishment of certain objectives for key executives and certain significant employees. The incentive cash bonuses awarded under this program are calculated by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors ("Compensation Committee") based upon the objectives set for each participant with a maximum of 30% of the participant's salary (or, in the case of the Senior Vice President of Sales, salary plus targeted commission) for Senior Vice Presidents and a maximum 20% of the participant's salary for Vice Presidents, Business and Technology Fellows, and Research and Development Fellows. At the end of the calendar year, the Compensation Committee and the Company's President will determine whether the objectives of each individual participant were met and thereafter will determine the amount of the payment (if any) to be made to each participant under the plan based on the achievement of such objectives and the discretion of the Company's President and the Compensation Committee.
www.sec.gov
TI introduces industry's first 16-bit, dual-channel DAC family with 1 Gbps LVDS inputs
Monday March 31, 11:00 am ET
Wideband converter in ultra-small package maximizes carrier placement flexibility
DALLAS, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN - News) today introduced a high-performance 16-bit, dual channel, 1 GSPS (giga sample per second) digital-to-analog converter (DAC) family. The new single and dual-channel DAC family features a low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) data input port at 1 Gbps, providing up to 400 MHz signal bandwidth. In addition, the DAC family offers flexible configuration options as well as industry-leading tools and support to ease design and speed time to market for base stations, wideband IF transmitters, radar, and test and measurement equipment. (See http://www.ti.com/dac5682Z-pr.)
Best-in-class performance and flexibility in a space-saving package
Offered in a small 9 mm x 9 mm QFN package, the DAC568x family builds upon TI's commitment to offer high-performance, integrated solutions by providing a 70 percent space savings over traditional data converters. The devices provide several configuration options to support different transmit architectures, such as direct up-conversion, real or complex IF, and different wireless air interfaces such as WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, WiMAX and LTE. For an output frequency of 160 Mhz, the devices achieve 73 dB ACPR for a single-carrier WCDMA application or 67 dBc for a four-carrier application. Along with the single-channel DAC5681 and DAC5681Z, the dual DAC5682Z offers many digitally configurable features such as:
-- Selectable low-, high-, or bypass filter modes
-- Interpolation: 2x, 4x or bypass
-- Optional +/-Fs/4 or +/-Fs/8 coarse mixer
-- Optional 2x-32x clock multiplying PLL
-- 8 sample input data FIFO
continued...
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080331/lam005.html?.v=101
Texas Instruments announces industry's first multi-carrier, multi-standard development platform for wireless infrastructure base stations
Monday March 31, 9:36 am ET
Single platform enables CAPEX savings for operators
DALLAS, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- With its eye on customers' development costs and challenges, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN - News) today announced a scalable, programmable development ecosystem enabling base station OEMs to support multiple carriers of established and evolving wireless standards from a single platform. Based on TI's multicore TMS320TCI6487 and TMS320TCI6488 digital signal processors (DSPs) and multi-interface software libraries, the development platform covers all major air interfaces including GSM-EDGE, HSPA, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA , LTE and WiMAX. With a single development platform, OEMs largely "design once-deploy multiple" base stations, significantly reducing design costs, while speeding the deployment of new 3G features and beyond 3G standards. For more information, go to http://www.ti.com/beyond3g.
In addition to reducing development time, TI makes designing easier by supporting both MAC and PHY layer processing on the same platform. The high performance DSP platform also eliminates the need for an expensive, power-hungry FPGA, with the exception of WiMAX designs. CommAgility, a designer and manufacturer of high performance embedded signal processing cards, uses TI's multicore DSP to support its AdvancedMC(TM) module AMC-6487 product, targeted at high-performance processing roles in wireless baseband and other applications. The board is designed around three TMS320C6487 DSPs or the pin-compatible TMS320C6488 DSP and an optional WiMAX-required FPGA, providing wireless baseband developers the processing power they need to support their high-capacity solutions.
"As wireless air interfaces continue to evolve across global cellular networks, operators can greatly benefit from a multi-standard, multi-carrier base station processing platform," said Nadine Manjaro, senior analyst for mobile networks at ABI Research. "The flexibility and efficiency of TI's new multi-standard ecosystem will allow operators to upgrade easily between GSM/WCDMA/HSPA and LTE, all from a single platform."
continued...
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080331/lam108.html?.v=101
Texas Instruments Joins LiMo Foundation(TM) as First Semiconductor Company at the Core Member Level
Monday March 31, 9:00 am ET
Membership by industry leader in silicon technology for mobile phones increases diversity among LiMo Foundation leadership
LONDON & TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LiMo Foundation, a global consortium of mobile leaders delivering an open handset platform for the whole mobile industry, and Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN - News), announced today the important addition of TI as the Foundation’s newest Core member.
“With nearly two decades of wireless system experience, TI brings an unsurpassed heritage of supporting the advancement of embedded and mobile Linux devices,” said Morgan Gillis, executive director, LiMo Foundation. “TI fully shares the commitment of all LiMo member companies to advance the LiMo Platform and thereby open new avenues of choice throughout value system – we greatly look forward to TI’s contributions as our newest board member.”
By actively participating in LiMo Foundation, TI will work towards the advancement of the LiMo Platform™; establish an open and diverse ecosystem that realizes the advantages of open Linux-based development, and collaborate with other committed mobile industry leaders and innovators. TI will assume a seat on LiMo’s Board of Directors, Executive Council, Architecture Council and Requirements Council, and will work within LiMo’s constructs to make valuable contributions to the development and advancement of the LiMo Platform.
“Joining the LiMo Foundation is a natural complement to TI’s commitment to provide solutions for all high-level operating systems, and in particular our long history in Linux development,” said Avner Goren, TI’s representative on the LiMo board and director of strategic marketing for TI’s Wireless Terminals Business Unit. “As a LiMo board member, TI will have the unique opportunity to leverage our experience delivering mobile Linux solutions for OMAP and our broad connectivity portfolio. Additionally, we look forward to collaborating with the LiMo membership to influence the direction of the LiMo Platform, further enabling our customers to deliver a high-quality user experience on Linux-enabled mobile devices.”
Kiyohito Nagata of NTT DoCoMo, chairperson of LiMo Foundation added, “As the market-leading semiconductor and processor supplier to mobile and smart phone manufacturers around the world, having helped its customers ship tens of millions of Linux-based phones, TI is a strategic addition to the Foundation and we are very pleased to welcome them on board.”
Launched in January 2007 by six mobile industry leaders – Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone – LiMo was formed to deliver an open and globally consistent software platform based upon mobile Linux for use by the whole industry to catalyze next generation mobile consumer experiences. LiMo Foundation is open to all vendors and service providers in the mobile communications marketplace, including device manufacturers, operators, chipset manufacturers, independent software vendors, integrators and third-party developers. LiMo members are participating collectively to building a rich ecosystem and have the ability to influence the evolution of the LiMo Platform, leaving them free to provide compelling and differentiated services to customers.
Texas Instruments – Making Wireless
TI creates innovative wireless semiconductors, delivering the heart of today's wireless technology and building solutions for tomorrow. TI provides a breadth of silicon and software and 18 years of wireless systems expertise that spans handsets and base stations for all communications standards, wireless LAN, Bluetooth® and GPS. TI offers custom to turn-key solutions, including complete chipsets and reference designs, OMAP™ application processors, as well as core digital signal processor and analog technologies built on advanced semiconductor processes. Please visit www.ti.com/wirelesspressroom for additional information.
About LiMo Foundation
LiMo Foundation™ is a dedicated consortium of mobile industry leaders working together within an open and transparent governance model—with shared leadership and shared decision making—to deliver an open and globally consistent handset software platform based upon Mobile Linux for use by the whole mobile industry. A full description of LiMo, including its vision, goals, guiding principles, bylaws, charter and membership information, can be found at www.limofoundation.org.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080331/20080331005428.html?.v=1
DALLAS .– Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) CEO and president, Rich Templeton, challenged more than 8,000 young engineers to champion innovation and set their sights on making a difference during a keynote address at the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) 34th annual national convention held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Templeton delivered his keynote during the annual NSBE Golden Torch Awards banquet on March 22.
Templeton also accepted the Corporate Diversity Leadership Award on behalf of the company and presented TI Senior Vice President, Arthur L. George, with the 2008 NSBE Lifetime Achievement in Industry Award.
“TI and NSBE share some common objectives – to cultivate leadership and to expand the pipeline of young engineers,” said Templeton. “Like NSBE, TI believes that strong leaders are vital: to developing talent, discovering new technologies, and helping TI make a difference. Through our longstanding relationship, NSBE has introduced TI to some of this country’s best and brightest engineering minds.”
TI has been a NSBE corporate sponsor and participant in the annual convention for more than 20 years. TI recruits 20-25 employees per year directly from the NSBE conference and finances 1,000 NSBE student memberships every year to build new chapters around the country. For the last 19 years, NSBE members have ranked TI among the top 50 companies for blacks in the U.S. to work — an honor the company has received since the list’s inception in 1989.
In his remarks, Templeton described the potential impact technology could have on solving some of the key problems facing the world today. “Technology offers us the chance to take on critical problems in the healthcare, power efficiency and public safety sectors that touch billions of people and impact every corner of the world. These challenges are in need of solutions, and the need is immediate,” Templeton said. “Those solutions aren’t going to come out of board rooms, summits or political debates. They’re going to come from people like you, creative engineers who want to make a difference.”
Following the keynote address, Templeton presented Art George, senior vice president of TI’s High-Performance Analog business unit, with NSBE’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement in Industry Award. George, a graduate of Southern University, joined TI 24 years ago and oversees one of the fastest growing entities within TI. George has served as a campus volunteer and recruiter for more than 20 years, personally recruiting at Southern University, Tennessee State University, Tuskegee University and the University of Arkansas. He is a member of the TI “Adopt a School Program” and has many more works worthy of recognition.
“If you’re looking for a success story, for a great role model, there’s no better example than Art, who runs one of TI’s fastest growing businesses in our company,” said Templeton. “He’s smart, curious, and a true believer in the power of technology.”
Templeton ended his speech by telling NSBE members to not only focus on being successful, but to set their sights on making a difference. “I encourage you to champion innovation, work with young people to get them excited about math and science and help build the next generation of scientists and engineers. TI believes in NSBE because this organization is developing young people, like yourselves, who will shape the future,” he concluded.
http://www.pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=91828&Itemid=9
ZURICH, Mar. 27, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- OC Oerlikon Corp (OOTC:OERLF) AG reported a below forecast full year net profit of 319 mln sfr, up from 302 mln the year before, with the company citing a combination of organic sales growth and acquisitions such as the takeover of Swiss textile maker Saurer.
EBIT reached 496 mln sfr, after 430 mln last year.
While EBIT reached the lower end of the forecast range of 495-517 mln sfr, net profit fell short of analysts expectations of 323-366 mln sfr.
However, the Swiss technology group gave a positive outlook, saying it expects sales to exceed 6 bln sfr in 2008, while it sees a further increase in earnings.
'The year 2007 was the most successful year in Oerlikon's recent history... We have strengthened the operative basis of the group, providing the foundation for growth in sales and profit in 2008,' chief executive Uwe Krueger commented.
'The takeover of Saurer really proved to be a success in 2007,' said chairman Georg Stumpf.
In 2007, the group's sales reached 5.629 bln sfr, up 20 pct year-on-year, in line with forecasts of 5.543-5.742 bln sfr, or 5.668 bln sfr on average
New orders reached 6.041 bln sfr, up 16 pct on last year, while its order backlog stood at 1.841 bln sfr, up from 1.748 bln.
The group's operative cash flow during the period increased by 42 pct to 678 mln sfr.
Unit Oerlikon Textile set a new record, with sales rising to 2.719 bln sfr, up 27 pct on last year, helped by a boom in staple yarns in Asia.
Oerlikon Coating achieved excellent results reflecting continued rapid growth in the coating business as well as more than doubling the sales in solar, while its Balzers unit continued its regional expansion.
Oerlikon Solar increased sales to over 300 mln sfr, helped by first-time orders from Asia and the successful introduction of new technologies.
Segment Oerlikon Vacuum exceeded general market growth, with sales reaching 458 mln sfr, up 6 pct on last year.
It's Drive Systems unit posted a 17 pct growth to 1.1 bln sfr, benefiting particularly from great demand in agricultural and industrial sectors.
Oerlikon components recorded a 2.3 pct rise in sales to 344 mln sfr, thanks to new product launches at Oerlikon Esec and continued growth from Oerlikon Space.
andrew.ge.thompson@thomson.com
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-24052791.htm
Toshiba Shows Prototype Home Management Robot
Monday, March 31, 2008 7:10 AM PDT
If you've become hostage to a clutch of remote controls in your living room, never quite sure what all the buttons do and confusing different controllers for different gadgets, then Toshiba might have the answer. It's developed a prototype robot that can act as a voice gateway to just about anything in the room that has a remote control.
The robot is called "ApriPoco" -- a name that mixes up the previous robot's ApriAlpha moniker with the Italian "poco a poco" for "little by little," which is the pace at which it learns commands from users, said Daisuke Yamamoto, a research scientist at Toshiba's humancentric laboratory here in Kawasaki, near Tokyo.
When activated in a room it watches for the infrared signals emitted by remote controls and when it senses one it asks the user "What are you doing?" From the voice reply, for example "Switching on the TV," it begins to learn the meaning of each signal and eventually can imitate the remote control when commanded by voice. So all it takes is to say "Switch on the TV" and the set should spring to life.
The robot also has the ability to remember program names or genres but right now can't match it up with an electronic program guide to, for example, find which channel is broadcasting a news program in response to the command "news."
In a demonstration at the R&D lab in Kawasaki the ApriPoco was able to switch on and off a TV, air conditioner and lamp in response to commands from Yamamoto.
The user has to speak clearly and use simple language to stand a chance of being understood. Toshiba's researchers liken the language required to something like that of a mother speaking to a young child or baby and it's for that reason that ApriPoco has been designed to look somewhat like a baby. It's 27 centimeters tall and has a large round body with small fat wings that take the place of arms, and large, round eyes.
At present the speech recognition system isn't inside ApriPoco. Half of the robot's functions, including the voice recognition system, run in a laptop PC that sits nearby but that will soon be built inside the next version of the prototype device.
The ApriPoco project began in 2006 and the prototype robot shown on Monday is the first public product from the work. Toshiba's robotics work goes back further and ApriPoco's lineage can be traced back to the ApriAlpha project that began in 2003. There are plenty of design similarities between the two robots although the new prototype is much smaller.
Toshiba wants to develop the robot into a commercial product but more development works needs to be done so at present there are no plans to put ApriPoco on sale.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,143977-c,artificialintelligence/article.html
Friday March 28, 5:11 pm ET
Linear Technology Rises As Analyst Upgrades on Weak Dollar and Strong Market Growth
NEW YORK (AP) -- Chip maker Linear Technology Corp. rose Friday after Goldman Sachs analyst Craig Hettenbach upgraded it to "Buy" from "Neutral" and said he expects Linear to outperform its peers in the weakening economy.
Hettenbach, who assumed primary coverage of the stock, liked the effect the deteriorating dollar was having on Linear's export market. The analyst said its limited exposure to the wireless and consumer market should help the company navigate through difficult economic conditions.
The Milpitas, Calif.-based company makes chips that convert analog signals to digital.
"We believe the company's premier business model and ability to quickly adjust variable spending, including profit sharing, will help to preserve its market-leading margins," he said.
Linear shares rose 28 cents, less than a percent, to $30.46 Friday. They have traded between $25.90 and $38.84 in the last 12 months.
Presstek Announces Information Regarding Fourth Quarter 2007 Financial Results
Monday March 31, 12:12 pm ET
HUDSON, N.H., March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Presstek, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRST - News), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high tech digital imaging solutions for the graphic arts and laser imaging markets, today announced it will release its fourth quarter 2007 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, April 3, 2008. In conjunction with this announcement, Presstek senior management will host a conference call on April 3, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. (ET) to discuss the results.
The call will be open to all interested parties and may be accessed by using the following information:
CONFERENCE CALL ACCESS
Domestic Dial In: (866) 362-5158
International Dial In: (617) 597-5397
Passcode: 49516636
Investors can access the call in a "listen only" mode via the Internet at http://www.presstek.com.
In addition, for those unable to participate at the time of the call, a rebroadcast will be available following the call from Thursday, April 3, 2008 at 10:30 AM Eastern Standard Time until Thursday, April 10, 2008 Eastern Standard Time at midnight. The rebroadcast may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.presstek.com or by telephone using the following information:
REBROADCAST ACCESS
Domestic Dial In: (888) 286-8010
International Dial In: (617) 801-6888
Passcode: 75496937
About Presstek
Presstek, Inc. is the leading manufacturer and marketer of high tech digital imaging solutions to the graphic arts and laser imaging markets. Presstek's patented DI®, CTP and plate products provide a streamlined workflow in a chemistry-free environment, thereby reducing printing cycle time and lowering production costs. Presstek solutions are designed to make it easier for printers to cost effectively meet increasing customer demand for high-quality, shorter print runs and faster turnaround while providing improved profit margins.
Presstek subsidiary, Lasertel, Inc., manufactures semiconductor laser diodes for Presstek's and external customers' applications.
For more information visit www.presstek.com, or call 603-595-7000 or email: info@presstek.com.
Contact:
Kathleen Makrakis
Director Investor Relations
(203) 485-7534, ext 1432
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080331/nem093.html?.v=36
Yes, the sp is a bit of a surprise. Congrats on adding, should be a nice entry point if you are thinking long-term.
Not that I know of.
Thanks for the post. Satellite services should certainly be a concern to Charter. I assume you changed to satellite or did you select another cable carrier? Well, have a great weekend.
Monday, 24 March 2008
Logistics Management
Washington - Is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) dying? Both Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama have made campaign promises to “renegotiate” the 14-year-old trade agreement that generally has resulted in a boom for U.S. trucking and railroad interests.
Since NAFTA was adopted in 1994 under the first Clinton administration, it basically created open trade, free of duties and tariffs, among the U.S. Mexico and Canada. But both Democratic candidates have sounded a protectionist tone during their campaign, threatening to renegotiate NAFTA and other free trade agreements to make them more favorable on labor and environmental grounds.
It’s hard to tell whether this is merely campaign rhetoric or an actual threat to NAFTA existence. One thing is for sure. Any talk of renegotiating NAFTA makes truckers nervous.
ldquo;Since 1993, when the other Clinton signed the agreement, we’ve been in favor of NAFTA and free trade acts in general and that hasn’t changed,” ATA President and CEO Bill Graves told Logistics Management. “Free trade is generally good for the American consumer and we support that.”
It also has been good for the U.S. trucking industry. Some companies, such as Indianapolis-based Celadon and Con-way’s CFI unit, garner more than 40 percent of their revenue from the lucrative north-south trade in and out of Mexico.
Celadon, in fact, reports that more than half its total revenue (51 percent) comes from crossborder movements in and out of Canada and Mexico. Except for CFI, Celadon does more north-south business than the next four to six carriers in and out of Mexico combined.
Celadon generated $502.7 million in operating revenue during fiscal year ended June 30, 2007. It has grown significantly along with the growth of NAFTA trade. To show its growth rate, Celadon has $414 million revenue in 2006 and $399 million in 2005. Much of that growth was because of north-south Mexico trade.
Celadon is not alone. Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its NAFTA partners Canada and Mexico was 4.9 percent higher in 2007 than in 2006, reaching an annual record of $797 billion, according to the DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Last year, total truck trade between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico reached $554 billion. To put that figure in perspective, total truck trade between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico was $265 billion, or less than half today’s amount, just 13 years ago. Electronics, machinery, nuclear reactors and parts and motor vehicles made up nearly $280 billion of U.S.-Canada-Mexico truck trade last year, or about half the truck total amount.
Unlike the overall U.S. world trade imbalance, the NAFTA trade is nearly perfectly balanced between imports and exports. For a country with roughly a huge and growing trade imbalance, that’s important. Largely because of this country’s thirst for oil imports, the U.S. ran a trade imbalance of $763.6 billion in 2006, up from $716.7 billion the year before.
Some trucking executives, already fretting over record-high diesel prices that have trimmed margins in a shaky economy, prefer not to fret over NAFTA’s future, despite what politicians are saying.
“It’s hard to determine if this is just political posturing,” says Pitt Ohio President Chuck Hammel. “Will it really change at all? It’s out of our control. It’s like worrying about the price of diesel fuel.”
NAFTA has other challenges as well. Specifically, the Mexico-U.S. crossborder trucking provisions are under fire from Congress, which has voted to cut off all funding for a pilot program that has allowed a small number of Mexican-domiciled truckers to operate in this country.
As an example of Congress’s acrimony over that program, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., recently told Transportation Secretary Mary Peters she was “arrogant” in going ahead with the pilot program that has not been popular with safety advocates, the Teamsters union or carriers from either country.
The program was supposed to open the door for carriers to operate freely on both sides of the border. That has not happened. The pilot program allows up to 100 carriers to apply for authority from the other country. So far, only 16 Mexican carriers (with a total of 55 trucks) have sought operating authority. Similarly, only five U.S. carriers (with a total of 45 trucks) have received authority to operate throughout Mexico.
That’s because carriers realize Congress could eliminate the limited one-year demonstration project at any time. If a Democrat wins the White House, that is almost a certainty.
U.S. and Mexican governments have established two groups to provide oversight for the demonstration project. The first, a bi-national group, will provide continuous monitoring of the project and identify and resolve any implementation issues as they arise. The second, an evaluation group composed only of U.S. representatives knowledgeable with the issue, will be tasked with measuring and evaluating the results of the demonstration project. But that has not been enough to satisfy safely advocates, environmentalists and labor groups nervous over unsafe Mexican trucks.
For their part, Mexican carriers feel discriminated because they perceive their fleets have to meet a higher level of safety requirements than U.S. carriers. So neither side is terribly happy. Combined with the political uncertainty, carrier executives on both sides of the border say privately, the demonstration project is demonstrably a loser,
Considering only five of the more than 700,000 interstate trucking companies and approximately 400,000 intrastate companies registered to operate in the U.S. have applied and only 45 of the 8 million large trucks registered in the United States are actually operating in Mexico, the numbers speak for themselves.
Any changes to NAFTA would further dilute interest and would probably mean less north-south trade among the three NAFTA nations. That’s because some business currently in Mexico could conceivably move to either Asia or Latin America, hurting U.S. truckers even more.
http://www.truthabouttrade.org/content/view/11349/54/
--------------
Have a great weekend everyone.
Have a great weekend. Should be a great week next week for certain stocks. Take care. Remember, angels fly because they take themselves lightly haha.
Fun in the sun...
Hope everyone has a great weekend. It's sunny here in California. See ya next week.
Have a great weekend all.
(=
Industry news
NEW YORK (AP) -- Delta Air Lines Inc. said Thursday it raised its fuel surcharge by $10 round-trip, marking the carrier's second attempt in just over a week to pass more of its fuel costs onto passengers.
The Atlanta-based airline, the third-largest U.S. carrier, tried to raise fares by a similar amount last Wednesday, but that effort failed after most other airlines refused to follow suit. Because of stiff competition, widespread airfare increases launched by one airline typically take hold only when they are matched by competitors.
Thursday's increase was the sixth attempted by domestic carriers in the past five weeks, according to a tally by FareCompare.com.
"There has never been a time period since we began closely tracking airfares in 2002 that has had this many attempted airfare hikes of this frequency (back to back) or magnitude," Rick Seaney, CEO of the airfare price-tracking Web site, said in an e-mail.
The increase came as crude-oil prices shot higher following the bombing of a key Iraqi oil pipeline. Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose $1.68 to settle at $107.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier rising as high as $108.22.
Fuel represents one of the airline industry's biggest expenses, and carriers have been aggressively trying to push ticket prices higher as the cost of fuel has risen. Still, airline executives and other industry observers say carriers need to charge passengers even more to stay financially healthy.
"The cost of fuel continues to outpace fares," Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton said in confirming the increase.
A spokeswoman for United Airlines, which was the only carrier to match Delta's ultimately unsuccessful increase last week, said the Chicago-based carrier was studying Delta's latest move but had not yet decided whether to raise its fares.
Delta shares fell 39 cents, or 4.5 percent, to close at $8.35. Earlier in the day, the price dipped to $8.34, the stock's lowest level since Delta emerged from bankruptcy last April.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080327/delta_higher_fares.html?.v=3
Airline Passengers' Rights Delayed
While acknowledging New York legislators' just cause, an appeals court rules that letting states regulate airlines would make a mess
by Justin Bachman
BW Exclusives
A federal appeals court in Manhattan on Mar. 25 quashed New York's effort to ensure that airlines protect passengers against hours spent on a runway without food, water, and functional lavatories while waiting for takeoff. The court said the state's legislation usurped federal transportation laws and would create a Gordian knot of unworkable regulation covering air travel. "If New York's view regarding the scope of its regulatory authority carried the day, another state could be free to enact a law prohibiting the service of soda on flights departing from its airports, while another could require allergen-free food options on its outbound flights, unraveling the centralized federal framework for air travel," the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled.
A spokesman for New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said the office is reviewing the decision and had no further comment about whether it will appeal. Even if Cuomo decides to back off the fight, New York lawmakers have already demonstrated there's a political consensus around the issue, and consumer advocates have tapped a deep well of passenger anger. The largest group, Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights, says it has more than 20,000 members. For airlines, the issue isn't likely to go away.
The New York law took effect on Jan. 1. It arose in response to the infamous case of JetBlue (JBLU) passengers trapped on planes for 10 hours or more in February, 2007 (BusinessWeek.com, 2/21/07), as winter storms pummeled New York City. Two months earlier, American Airlines (AMR) made news for horrendous onboard conditions after the company stranded passengers in Texas when storms whacked its Dallas-Fort Worth hub.
The Fruits of Deregulation
Passenger advocates were quick to decry the court's decision. "I continue to be stunned by the audacity of the airline industry, which fought so hard to deny the flying public simple basic rights like being able to use a restroom or get a drink of water while stranded on a delayed plane," State Senator Charles Fuschillo Jr., a Long Island Republican and co-author of the bill, said in a statement. The bill's primary sponsor, New York Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, a Democrat from Queens, said in an interview: "It speaks to why airlines are held in such low regard by the public. They would rather spend time and money hiring lawyers…than figuring out how they can provide a drink of water to people."
The major carriers' trade group, the Air Transport Assn., had sued in federal court to block the law, which former Governor Eliot Spitzer signed in August. It required that airlines provide food, water, clean toilets, fresh air, and lighting on flights delayed on the ground in New York for more than three hours. Carriers that did not comply faced fines as high as $1,000 per passenger. (In the law's 84-day lifespan, a complaint against one airline had been lodged and was being investigated.)
The airlines argue that the 30-year-old federal law that deregulated the industry holds precedence over such state efforts. More to the point, the industry says, it is working with the U.S. Transportation Dept. to devise airline-specific guidelines governing how best to function when weather or other circumstances foul operations. In a statement, the ATA said the court ruling reinforces the federal role in airline regulation and that "a patchwork of laws by states and localities would be impractical and harmful to consumer interests."... cont'd
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/mar2008/db20080325_789333.htm?campaign_id=yhoo
IBD's Top 10 - Thursday
Thursday March 27, 6:56 pm ET
Investor's Business Daily
Tech Stocks Lead Market Slide
1 The Nasdaq led losses, as Oracle's disappointing sales results late Wed. pressured the tech sector. The composite fell 1.9%, while the S&P 500 slid 1.1% and the Dow dipped 1%. The NYSE composite fell 0.7%, partly supported by rallying energy stocks. Volume rose across the board. The yield on the 10-year note was up 5 basis points to 3.54%.
Iraq Takes On Powerful Militia
2 An Iraqi offensive against Shiite fighters loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the southern oil city of Basra ignited fighting and massive demonstrations in other Shiite-dominated cities, including Baghdad, where mortars rained down on the Green Zone. PM Nouri al-Maliki vowed a fight to the finish.
Oil Tops $107 On Basra Outage
3 Crude futures jumped after a militant bombing damaged one of two major oil pipelines in the Iraq city of Basra. The May contract ended up $1.68 to $107.58 a barrel, adding to an almost $5 gain Wednesday. A Southern Oil Co. official said the pipeline could be restored in 72 hours but fighting in the region could cause further disruptions.
Google Sags As Paid Clicks Slow
4 The search giant fell after data showed slowing growth of paid clicks. Google's Feb. click-through rate rose only 3.1% from a year ago, and Jan. saw no yearly increase, according to comScore. Google gets paid when users click on a sponsored ad. The clicks were once growing at 25%-40%. Piper Jaffray predicted that Google would miss Q1 estimates.
Clear Channel Deal Gets Boost
5 The radio giant jumped 10% to 29.60 after it won a temporary order from a Texas judge that stops 6 banks from reneging on their commitments to fund a $19.5 bil buyout of Clear Channel (NYSE:CCU - News). Analysts said the order doesn't mean the buyout by Bain Capital and T.H. Lee will go through, but it does stop an unraveling for now.
FAA Order Disrupts More Flights
6 American (NYSE:AMR - News) canceled 132 flights and Delta (NYSE:DAL - News) canceled about 275 as the carriers pulled some jets out of service to carry out FAA-requested maintenance. The checks are part of an FAA audit spurred by recent maintenance lapses found at Southwest (NYSE:LUV - News), which led to a record $10 mil fine. American canceled 318 flights Wed. Its parent, AMR, fell 2.7%. Delta slid 4.5%. Southwest rose 3.3%.
ConAgra Tops, Sells Trading Unit
7 The packaged food maker, whose brands include Healthy Choice and Chef Boyardee, said its Q3 EPS rose 62% to 63 cents, beating views by 22 cents. Sales rose 21% to $3.5 bil. It sees '08 EPS of $1.80-$1.85, above views of $1.60. It will sell its commodity trading and merchandising business for $2.1 bil. ConAgra (NYSE:CAG - News) jumped 7% to 23.45.
Economy Nearly Stalled In Q4
8 U.S. GDP grew at an annual rate of just 0.6% in the Oct.-Dec. period, according to a final Commerce Dept. estimate. Declines in business inventories and spending on new homes outweighed gains in consumer spending and exports. For all of '07, the economy grew 2.2%, the slowest in 5 years. The economy has slowed further in Q1 amid the housing slump and the credit crunch.
Fed Launches New 28-Day Deal
9 The Fed auctioned $18 bil in 5-year T-notes with an average yield of 2.595%, a bit higher than expected. This was the first sale under its new 28-day Term Securities Lending Facility, which accepts mortgage-backed securities as collateral. The move boosts liquidity for struggling financial firms amid an ongoing credit crunch.
Obama Backs More Regulation
10 The Dem presidential candidate called for more regulation of the financial system in a wide-ranging economic speech, saying deregulation had created conditions that pushed the economy to the brink of a recession. Barack Obama also outlined a $30 bil stimulus plan. Rival Hillary Clinton's campaign derided his proposals as vague. Clinton also called for gov't-sponsored training to aid displaced workers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ibd/080327/top10.html?.v=1
Friday March 28, 9:50 am ET
American, Delta Schedules Get Back to Normal As Airlines Finish Checking on Plane Wiring
DALLAS (AP) -- American Airlines canceled a handful of flights on Friday as it finished up its inspections of wiring bundles on some of its planes, while Delta Air Lines resumed normal service after completing its inspections.
Four American flights were canceled out of the airline's about 2,300 daily flights, American spokesman Tim Wagner said early Friday morning. He said that six planes were still being worked on.
"That's pretty much as close to normal as you can get," Wagner said.
Of the 300 aircraft inspected, 151 needed modified, he said.
Delta Air Lines Inc. spokeswoman Betsy Talton said the airline completed its inspections Thursday night and planned no cancellations for Friday.
"We will be running a normal schedule," she said.
Delta said Thursday it would cancel 275 flights, affecting 3 percent of Delta's worldwide flight schedule, to make the re-inspections.
American, the nation's largest airline, canceled 141 flights by mid-afternoon Thursday, officials said. The Fort Worth-based airline canceled 318 flights Wednesday. American is part of AMR Corp.
At American, inspectors from the airline and the Federal Aviation Administration focused on fixing the spacing between cords used to secure bundles of wires in the auxiliary hydraulic systems of its MD-80 aircraft.
The inspections came almost three weeks after the FAA ordered a check of maintenance records at all U.S. airlines following criticism of the agency's handling of missed fuselage inspections at Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co.
The FAA imposed a $10.2 million civil penalty on Southwest this month for missing the inspections and then continuing to fly the planes with passengers on board even after realizing the mistake. Southwest officials have said they repaired small cracks in the fuselages of six planes last year and four this month.
The FAA said it would check compliance with at least 10 safety orders at every U.S. airline by Friday. A more complete audit is due by the end of June.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080328/airlines_cancellations.html?.v=5
Presstek Receives NASDAQ Staff Determination Regarding Previously Announced Delay in 10-K Filing
Friday March 28, 1:09 pm ET
HUDSON, N.H., March 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Presstek, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRST - News), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high tech digital imaging solutions for the graphic arts and laser imaging markets, today announced that, as expected, on March 24, 2008, it received a NASDAQ Staff Determination notifying the company that the failure to timely file its Form 10-K for the period ending December 29, 2007 constitutes a failure to satisfy the filing requirement for continued listing under NASDAQ Marketplace Rule 4310(c) (14).
On March 4, 2008, the company announced that the extensive work efforts required during the latter part of 2007 to complete the company's previously disclosed financial and business process reviews and file its third quarter 2007 Form 10-Q, have resulted in the delayed filing of its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2007 with the SEC. The company also announced that the delay in filing its Form 10-K is due to the company's late start in closing Q4 2007 financial records.
The company intends to file its Form 10-K for the period ending on December 29, 2007 as soon as practicable.
Pursuant to NASDAQ procedures, the company plans to appeal the Staff Determination and request a hearing before a NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel to review the Staff Determination. This hearing request is expected to stay the suspension of trading and delisting of the company's securities pending the issuance of the Panel's decision. Thus, pending a decision by the Panel, the company's shares will remain listed under the ticker symbol PRST on The NASDAQ Stock Market. There can be no assurance that the Panel will grant the Company's request for continued listing.
About Presstek
Presstek, Inc. is the leading manufacturer and marketer of high tech digital imaging solutions to the graphic arts and laser imaging markets. Presstek's patented DI®, CTP and plate products provide a streamlined workflow in a chemistry-free environment, thereby reducing printing cycle time and lowering production costs. Presstek solutions are designed to make it easier for printers to cost effectively meet increasing customer demand for high-quality, shorter print runs and faster turnaround while providing improved profit margins.
Presstek subsidiary, Lasertel, Inc., manufactures semiconductor laser diodes for Presstek's and external customers' applications.
For more information visit http://www.presstek.com, or call 603-595-7000 or email: info@presstek.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements contained in this News Release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the results of internal reviews and their impact on the company's ability to file required reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission on a timely basis and the related NASDAQ Staff Determination notifying the company that the failure to timely file its Form 10-K for the period ending December 29, 2007 constitutes a failure to satisfy the filing requirement for continued listing under NASDAQ Marketplace Rule 4310(c) (14). Such forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the results and impact of the company's internal reviews, the possible delisting of the company's stock from the NASDAQ Stock Market, and other risks detailed in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company's other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The words "looking forward," "looking ahead," "believe(s)," "should," "may," "expect(s)," "anticipate(s)," "project(s)," "likely," "opportunity," and similar expressions, among others, identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statement was made. The company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this news release.
Contact:
Kathleen Makrakis
Director Investor Relations
(203) 485-7534, ext 1432
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080328/nef031.html?.v=48
Price target
Low $1.05
High $3.95
imho dyodd glta
News!
Fremont Pressed to Raise Capital or Sell
Friday March 28, 10:33 am ET
By Alex Veiga, AP Business Writer
Regulators Give Fremont General 60 Day Warning to Raise New Capital or Sell Bank
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Federal and state banking regulators have given financial services company Fremont General Corp. 60 days to raise new capital or sell its banking subsidiary, the company said Friday.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the California Department of Financial Institutions set a May 26 deadline for the Brea, Calif.-based company to raise capital, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The FDIC considers the company's banking unit, Fremont Investment & Loan, to be undercapitalized by regulatory standards, Fremont said in the filing.
The two banking regulators issued their directive to the company on Wednesday, ordering it to sell shares or assets to raise enough capital to meet regulatory minimums, put itself up for sale and divest the bank.
The federal agency also restricted Fremont to offering interest rates at prevailing rates paid by similar banks in California.
The company was also ordered not to increase pay for executives or make any payouts to any affiliate of the bank.
Fremont said it is trying to raise capital and also exploring selling the company or the bank.
Fremont was primarily a mortgage lender until early last year, when it was forced by regulators to cease originating mortgages.
The agency claimed Fremont was operating without proper risk management oversight. The company proceeded to sell its mortgage assets after the lending operations were closed.
It has since been struggling to turn itself around following the collapse of the subprime mortgage industry.
Last week, the company announced it agreed to sell the servicing rights to some $1.9 billion of its securitized mortgage loans to a subsidiary of Carrington Capital Management LLC for an undisclosed amount.
The sale followed the disclosure earlier this month that it received default notices on $3.15 billion in subprime mortgages it had previously sold to investors.
Fremont shares fell 7 cents, or 10.8 percent, to 54 cents in morning trading.
Fremont General Corp.: http://www.fremontgeneral.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080328/fremont_regulatory.html?.v=4
Southern California Edison plans to install solar panels on more than 100 rooftops in a project ten times the size of anything similar attempted by a utility.
The solar panels will cover more than two square miles of rooftop and be able to produce 250 megawatts of electricity. That amount could power more than 160,000 homes while the sun is shining, according to a release.
The New York Times reports that Edison's installation will be the equivalent to all the solar panels produced in the U.S. last year.
The utility is under the gun to boost renewables. Chairman and chief executive John Bryson tells the Times that he expects demand to grow. At the same time, California utilities are being required by the state to produce 20 percent of their power from renewable sources.
The project, estimated at $875 million, will take about five years to complete. The company plans to begin installation work immediately on commercial roofs in the Inland Empire, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, according to a release.
Denver-based ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) has agreed to lease roof space at its 607,000-square-foot Kaiser Distribution Park to Southern California Edison to launch the program, according to the Denver Business Journal. The Kaiser distribution center is located in Fontana.
Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger lauded the plan in a statement. "These are the kinds of big ideas we need to meet California's long-term energy and climate change goals," he said.
Rosemead-based Southern California Edison is an Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company.
The Denver Business Journal and GreenBizjournal contributed to this report.
http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2008/03/24/daily28.html
WaferGen Signs Exclusive Distribution Agreement for SmartSlide(TM) Micro-Incubation System in United Kingdom and France
Tuesday March 25, 7:30 am ET
FREMONT, Calif., March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WaferGen Biosystems, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: WGBS - News), a leading developer of state-of-the-art gene expression, genotyping, cell biology and stem cell research systems, today announced the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement for the company's SmartSlide(TM) Micro-Incubation System with Labtech International Limited in the United Kingdom and Labtech France in France. The distributor agreement covers WaferGen's entire family of SmartSlide Micro-Incubation System products. Labtech International Limited is a leading provider of innovative scientific products to researchers in the life science markets in the United Kingdom, while its sister company, Labtech France, coordinates distribution of the same products in France.
WaferGen's SmartSlide Micro-Incubation System is a first-of-its-kind family of integrated fluidics exchange micro-incubation products that work seamlessly with inverted microscopes. This breakthrough technology is enabling cell biology and stem cell researchers to conduct complex time lapse imaging studies to characterize, differentiate and proliferate cells, as well as grow stem, primary and other difficult to cultivate cells in consistently optimal physiological conditions. These innovative capabilities will allow researchers to pursue cutting-edge research topics that are not addressable with existing technology.
"The signing of this important distributor agreement is just the latest in a number of recent key milestones related to our SmartSlide Micro-Incubation System. In just the past six weeks, we have signed distribution agreements covering five critical overseas markets, launched our new SmartSlide 200 Micro-Incubation System, and announced our first SmartSlide 200 customer adoption," said Alnoor Shivji, WaferGen's chairman and chief executive officer. "This impressive momentum is playing a major role in our ongoing efforts to grow our SmartSlide Micro-Incubation System business and we expect to continue to achieve important program milestones throughout the remainder of 2008."
"As a company that prides itself on providing our customers with the most sophisticated life science instruments available, we are excited to add WaferGen's SmartSlide Micro-Incubation System to the broad menu of products that we offer," stated Brian Page, Ph.D., Labtech's chief executive officer. "With more than 25 years of personal experience in the cell culture market, I am particularly impressed with the SmartSlide Micro-Incubation System and the innovative research activities the platform enables."
About the SmartSlide(TM) Micro-Incubation System
WaferGen has developed and is currently marketing the SmartSlide Micro-Incubation System, a first-of-its-kind family of integrated fluidics exchange micro-incubation products that work seamlessly with inverted microscopes. This breakthrough technology is enabling cell biology and stem cell researchers to conduct complex time lapse imaging studies to characterize, differentiate and proliferate cells, as well as grow stem, primary and other difficult to cultivate cells in consistently optimal physiological conditions. These innovative capabilities will allow researchers to pursue cutting-edge research topics that are not addressable with existing technology.
The core element of the SmartSlide Micro-Incubation System is the compact, sterile and disposable SmartSlide-6 Micro-Incubator which is designed to maintain cells at specific physiological conditions for prolonged cell or tissue imaging. The SmartSlide-6 Micro-Incubator allows for programmable fluidics exchanging, enabling the delivery of up to six nutrient media and gas into each of its six individual wells in both intermittent and continuous perfusion modes.
WaferGen has developed a family of SmartSlide Micro-Incubation System products built upon the SmartSlide-6 Micro-Incubator that offers cell biology and stem cell researchers varying levels of control over specific environmental conditions such as nutrient flow, temperature, humidity, gas and pH. Each of these SmartSlide Micro-Incubation System products incorporates easy-to-use graphical interface software that allows for complete walk-away automation. The SmartSlide Micro-Incubation System family of products consists of four currently marketed products: SmartSlide 50 Micro-Incubation System(TM), SmartSlide 100 Micro-Incubation System(TM), SmartSlide 150 Micro-Incubation System(TM), and SmartSlide 200 Micro-Incubation System(TM).
Since the launch of its SmartSlide Micro-Incubation System in late 2006, WaferGen has seen a positive response from many leading research institutions and organizations. The company's current SmartSlide(TM) Micro-Incubation System customers include Harvard University, Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Abbott Labs, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and several leading pharmaceutical companies.
About WaferGen
WaferGen Biosystems Inc. is a leader in the development, manufacture and sale of state-of-the-art systems for gene expression, genotyping, cell biology and stem cell research for the life science and pharmaceutical industries. The company is actively developing its SmartChip(TM) product for the gene expression and genotyping markets. SmartChip(TM) is being developed as the first whole genome, high throughput gene expression real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) platform and promises to deliver significant speed and cost advantages to researchers in the gene expression and genotyping markets. WaferGen currently markets its SmartSlide(TM) family of products to companies and organizations involved in stem cell and cell biology research. SmartSlide(TM), which was launched in 2006, represents the first fluidics integrated micro-incubators enabling cell biology and stem cell research. Representative SmartSlide(TM) customers include Harvard University, Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Abbott Labs, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
To learn more about WaferGen, please visit the company's web site at http://www.wafergen.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Such statements include statements relating to the expected benefits of the company's SmartSlide Micro-Incubation System to cell biology and stem cell researchers, the expected benefits of recent distributor agreements to the company's business, the company's expectation that it will achieve important program milestones throughout 2008 and other statements that are not historical facts, including statements which may be preceded by the words "intends," "may," "will," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "predicts," "estimates," "aims," "believes," "hopes," "potential" or similar words. For such statements, the company claims the protection of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the company. Actual results may differ materially from the expectations contained in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include the risks that: (i) the company may be unsuccessful in commercially developing its products or in achieving market acceptance of new and relatively unproven technologies; (ii) the company will need to raise additional capital to meet its business requirements in the future and the company may not be able to do so on reasonable terms or at all; (iii) the company's proprietary intellectual property rights may not adequately protect its products and technologies; and (iv) the company expects intense competition in its target markets, including from companies that have much greater resources than the company, and there can be no assurance that the company will be able to compete effectively. More detailed information about the company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 13, 2007. Investors and security holders are urged to read this document free of charge on the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov. The company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: WaferGen Biosystems, Inc.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080325/aqtu059.html?.v=49
KLA-Tencor Shares Rise After Upgrade
Thursday March 27, 4:44 pm ET
KLA-Tencor Shares Climb After Analyst Upgrades Company and Sector on Stock Correction
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of KLA-Tencor are up modestly in afternoon trading after a Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst upgraded the maker of semiconductor testing equipment.
Friedman's Mehdi Hosseini upgraded the San Jose, Calif.-based company to "Outperform" from "Market Perform," along with several other companies in the sector. He lifted his view of the semiconductor capital equipment sector to "Overweight."
"Following a 30 percent correction in stocks in the coverage universe since our early October downgrade, we now have incremental confidence to conclude that most of the 'bad' news is already in stocks and that fundamentals should start to improve by the fourth quarter of 2008," he wrote in a note to clients.
He added that investors should begin buying shares of select companies in the sector, and said he would consider any pullback in share price as a buying opportunity.
KLA-Tencor stock advanced 13 cents to finish at $37.13.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080327/kla_tencor_mover.html?.v=3
Pesticide Group Lobbied on Regulations
Wednesday March 26, 10:35 am ET
Pesticide Trade Group Spent Nearly $1.9 Million in 2007 to Lobby Government on Regulation
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An agricultural pesticide trade group spent nearly $1.9 million in 2007 to lobby on regulation of pesticide products, conservation and work force matters.
CropLife America spent nearly $1.1 million in the second half of 2007 to lobby the federal government, according to a disclosure form posted online Feb. 14 by the Senate's public records office. It lobbied on legislation regulating the industry, agriculture, the environment and nutrition as well.
Besides Congress, the trade group -- whose 64 members include Chemtura Corp., Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. -- lobbied the White House, Environmental Protection Agency and Interior and Agriculture departments among other agencies.
CropLife spent more than $800,000 in the first six months of 2007 to lobby on similar issues.
Lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches, under a federal law enacted in 1995.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080326/croplife_america_lobbying.html?.v=1
Varian Medical Systems Schedules Second Quarter FY2008 News Release and Conference Call
Tuesday March 25, 8:00 am ET
PALO ALTO, Calif., March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR - News) announced today that it will report results for second quarter of fiscal year 2008 following the close of regular trading on Wednesday, April 23, 2008. The news release will be followed by a teleconference available to all interested parties at 2:00 p.m. PT.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080325/aqtu044.html?.v=48
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Spencer Sias, (650) 424-5782
Vice President, Corporate Communications
and Investor Relations
spencer.sias@varian.com
On March 24, 2008, Brush Engineered Materials Inc., an Ohio corporation (the "Company"), updated the "Current Investor Update," a slide presentation on its website, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1. This slide presentation shows the Company's corporate strategy and the financial results through the fourth quarter of 2007. www.sec.gov
Yes, many banks, lenders and financial institutions are facing challenges. Large write-downs and liquidity problems coupled with fears of bank runs and rapid withdrawls are weighing on some equities. Companies such as Lehman, MF and WaMu are rumored or have been rumored to be facing bk and/or severe liquidity issues according to published and on-air reports.
Small Missouri bank is shuttered
By MARCY GORDON
WASHINGTON
A small Missouri bank was shut down by state regulators on Friday, a failure caused by financial mismanagement, officials said.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Agency was appointed as receiver.
The FDIC said that $12.5 million of the insured deposits of Hume Bank of Hume, Mo., will be assumed by Security Bank of Rich Hill, Mo. The failed bank's sole office will reopen Monday as a branch of Security Bank.
Hume is about 75 miles south of Kansas City.
The bank failure was not related to home-loan defaults and did not reflect weakness in Missouri's banking system, officials said.
"The demise of the bank is a direct result of alleged improprieties by former bank management, which resulted in past-due loans not being reported and the true condition of the bank being misrepresented," Eric McClure, Missouri's commissioner of finance, said in a statement. "Most of these loans were poorly conceived and inadequately serviced, resulting in losses which exhausted the bank's capital and ultimately resulted in its failure."
Hume Bank had $18.7 million in assets and $13.6 million in deposits as of Dec. 31, according to the FDIC.
It was the second failure this year of an FDIC-insured bank. The first, Douglass National Bank, also was in Missouri; it had $58.5 million in assets and failed in January.
Both were dwarfed by the failure last September of NetBank Inc., an online bank with $2.5 billion in assets, whose collapse was attributed to an excessive level of mortgage defaults.
Observers have been watching for signs of bank distress resulting from the mortgage crisis. Profits at federally insured U.S. banks and thrifts plunged to a 16-year low in the fourth quarter as institutions set aside a record-high amount to cover losses from sour mortgages.
The FDIC is planning to beef up its staff -- including temporarily hiring up to 25 retired FDIC employees who worked in the agency's more than 200-person division that handles failed banks -- to handle an anticipated increase in bank failures.
Customers with less than $100,000 deposited with Hume Bank will be protected by FDIC insurance.
The bank had about $1.1 million in deposit accounts that exceeded the FDIC limit. Those customers will become creditors in its receivership for the uninsured amounts, the agency said.
Hume Bank customers can call the FDIC's toll-free number: 1-866-806-6128.
Agree 100%
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Analysts cut their views of Merrill Lynch & Co.'s (MER) first quarter to a loss Thursday, saying continued deterioration in markets used to value complex forms of debt will cause the investment bank to write down billions of dollars in assets.
Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Meredith Whitney now sees Merrill writing down $6 billion in its first quarter, and BernsteinResearch analyst Brad Hintz expects $ 4.5 billion in write-downs. Both analysts had expected the bank to post a profit, but now see steep first-quarter losses: Whitney predicts a $3 per share loss and Hintz predicts a loss of $1.60 per share.
Merrill shares were down 0.2% to $44.34 in recent trading.
A Merrill spokeswoman declined to comment on the analysts' projections.
The falling values of the indices also caused Whitney to cut her first-quarter estimates to a loss for the Swiss bank UBS AG (UBS) and for Citigroup Inc. (C). She said Thursday she expects UBS to write down $11 billion in assets during the first quarter; on Wednesday she predicted that Citigroup will write down $13.1 billion. A UBS spokesman declined to comment on Whitney's research.
Shares of UBS were up 2.2% at $29.80 each in recent trading.
The potential write-downs facing Merrill and the world's other giant banks again put the spotlight on an obscure set of derivative indices used to estimate the value of thinly traded assets on the balance sheets of large banks. Critics of the indices believe they are too volatile, too illiquid and too susceptible to market manipulation to fairly value assets.
Drops in the value of indices have become one of the most significant factors in estimating the quarterly performance of large banks.
"Estimating the earnings of Merrill Lynch has become a game of estimating what the next write-down will be," Punk, Ziegel & Co. analyst Richard Bove wrote in a research note Thursday.
Bove also cut his full-year profit view for Merrill Thursday to nearly a third his previous estimate, but protested the mark-to-market accounting rules that made banks like Merrill tie the value of their assets to derivative indices such as the ABX, CMBX and LCDX. Those indices track the value of securities tied to residential and commercial mortgages, as well as LBO loans, and have been falling sharply this month.
"One can make just about any estimate because there is no hard data to base the number on," Bove wrote. "More importantly, one must ask again if the base indices have any validity."
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in testimony before Congress last month that mark-to-market accounting is "one of the major problems we have in the current environment," though he said there was no obvious alternative. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, has said the committee will review the mark-to-market rules, and said they may be having a "downward pull" on the economy.
Whitney predicts that write-downs will prompt large banks to raise new capital beginning in April, "as net losses wipe out a material portion of new equity raised in the past three months." Separate from replacing capital lost from write-downs, the banks may have to raise even more capital if rating agencies downgrade the ratings on their assets, Whitney said, since lower-rated assets require higher capital ratios.
Write-downs at Merrill and UBS are expected to come from the banks' portfolios of subprime collateralized debt obligations, securities tied to commercial real estate, loans funding leveraged buyouts and Alt-A mortgages.
The analysts are watching Merrill particularly closely because of its large exposure to collateralized debt obligations.
"Unlike in past cycles, this time around MER has found itself with the largest balance sheet exposure to CDO assets among the large capitalization brokerage firms," Hintz wrote. "With $30.4 billion of CDOs still on Merrill's balance sheet at the end of 2007, we believe the 'CDO Overhang' will be an ongoing concern for the firm over the next twenty four months."
Hintz said that, since the credit market indices accelerated their fall in March, which will make Merrill's write-downs worse than the relatively light hits taken by banks with first quarters ending in February: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS).
The trio reported earnings last week and each wrote down roughly $2 billion in assets.
-By Ed Welsch, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5244; edward.welsch@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-27-08 1251ET
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Rumors
Lehman Bros. (LEH) slumped 9% on talk that it may see a run on the bank
Now that Wall Street has taken a deep breath and relaxed over the fate of Bear Stearns, it apparently needs to start worrying about someone else.
Shares of Lehman Bothers have been battered today by rumors of a possible Bear-like run on the bank. A spokeswoman for Lehman denied that there was anything to the rumors and the stock, which was down by 10 percent earlier, recovered a bit by mid-afternoon, trading at $39, down 8 percent.
Kerrie Cohen, a spokeswoman for Lehman Brothers, told Reuters: "There are a lot of rumors in the marketplace that are totally unfounded. We are suspicious that the rumors are being promulgated by short sellers of our stock that have an economic self interest."
Lehman, which like Bear has been a huge player in the mortgaged-backed securities business, has in recent weeks been very vocal in emphasizing that its liquidity position is much stronger than Bear's was.
Still, questions about Lehman persist. Jesse Eisinger last week gave a skeptical assessment about Lehman's balance sheet, noting that its leverage and assets rose in the first-quarter. More troubling, Eisinger said, was that the firm changed the way it defines "tangible equity" or the hard assets that it has left over after subtracting its liabilities.
To be sure, when it comes to market worries, Lehman is not the only financial firm. Shares of Merrill Lynch were down 5 percent today after analysts forecast a lost for its first-quarter.
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/03/27/Lehman-Plagued-by-Rumors
iBox update
Moved the moderator disclaimer and made it less poignant. Thanks for the feedback.
Apr 3-4
Fremont General to present...
10:30-10:55AM Apr 4 - Jazz A (Palms Casino)
B. Riley & Co. 9th Annual Las Vegas Inv Conf
http://www.brileyco.com/conference/presentations.pdf
http://www.brileyco.com/conference/companylist.pdf
Sessions on Banking Crisis, Shareholder Activism, M&A, Retail Fireside Chat and Mall Tour Will Highlight B. Riley & Co. Investor Conference in Las Vegas
Thursday March 27, 9:14 am ET
-- April 1-4, 2008 at Palms Casino Resort
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Special sessions on banking, shareholder activism, mergers & acquisitions and retail are expected to draw new highs in both the number of presenting companies as well as institutional and buyside investors attending the 9th Annual Las Vegas Investor Conference scheduled April 1-4, 2008 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The four-day conference is hosted by B. Riley & Co., LLC.
B. Riley & Co.’s Director of Research, Ian Corydon, attributes much of the draw to the list of presenting companies as well as to the four special sessions imbedded in the schedule line up.
“We selected the most timely and challenging topics now facing investors and have assembled expert panels to not only address the issues, but to do so with a ‘going forward’ perspective,” said Corydon.
“One special session will discuss the banking environment and the credit crisis. But, rather than dwell on the causes, we’ve structured the session to focus on which companies will emerge as stronger players,” he said.
“We also know that economic downturns accentuate failings in corporate governance often resulting in increased shareholder activism, so in the midst of a retracting economy and banking crisis, we have assembled an expert panel that will cover what companies need to know and do to ward off shareholder discontent,” he continued.
Another session will cover the “hot topics” involved with M&A transactions and will discuss deal points, due diligence, executive compensation & benefits, and deal structures as well as accounting issues related to FAS 141R.
Complementing the Retail track will be a “fireside chat” with Ed Thomas, CEO of Wet Seal Inc. (Nasdaq:WTSLA - News). Joining the “chat” will be fashion industry consultant Mercedes Gonzalez of Global Purchasing Companies, who will address consumer buying habits and trends.
Also featured is the return of the successful Las Vegas Retail Store Tour. This year investors will meet with management at seven unique retail concepts including: Arden B (Nasdaq: WTSLA - News), Bakers Footwear (Nasdaq: BKRS - News), bebe (Nasdaq: BEBE - News), Cache (Nasdaq:CACH - News), Coldwater Creek (Nasdaq:CWTR - News), Hot Topic (Nasdaq:HOTT - News), and Wet Seal (Nasdaq: WTSLA - News).
“Each special session has been designed to complement the particular track of presenting companies and offers attendees a value-added component to the conference,” said Corydon.
The four special sessions include:
Retail “Fireside Chat”
Wednesday, April 2nd, 10:00–11:00 am
Moderator: Andrew Asch, Retail Editor, California Apparel News
Participants:
Ed Thomas, CEO, Wet Seal Inc. (Nasdaq:WTSLA - News) – Perspectives on Wet Seal and the apparel space (10:00-10:30 am)
Mercedes Gonzales, Global Purchasing Companies –Key trends emerging in retail; winners and losers. (10:30-11:00 am)
Corporate Governance & Shareholder Activism
Wednesday, April 2nd, 12:10-12:55 pm
Moderator: Pete Tennyson, Partner, Corporate Department, Law Firm of Paul Hastings
Participants:
Bryant Riley, Chairman, B. Riley & Co., LLC; Principal, Riley Investment Management
Robin Mayns Cowles, Co-head of Integrated Corporate Relations, Corporate Governance Unit.
Mikel Williams, CEO, DDi Corp. (DDIC)
A Focus on the Credit Crisis - Companies That Will Emerge as Stronger Players, and the Commercial Bank M&A Environment
Thursday, April 3rd, 11:00-11:55 am
Moderator: Nathan Stovall, Senior Industry Editor, SNL Financial
Participants:
Bert Ely, Banking and Thrift Industries consultant, Cato Institute Adjunct Scholar
Jorge Junguera, CFO, Popular Inc. (Nasdaq:BPOP - News)
George Gleason, Chairman and CEO, Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. (Nasdaq:OZRK - News)
Stephen Gordon, Chairman and CEO, Freemont General Corporation (NYSE:FMT - News)
Michael Blodnick, Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:GBCI - News)
Hot Topics in M&A
Thursday, April 3, Noon-1 pm
Moderator: Christopher Tower, Regional Partner, BDO Seidman
Participants:
Chris Smith, Partner, BDO Seidman
Shelly McGuire, Partner, BDO Seidman
Stephen Cooke, Partner, Paul Hastings
Gregory Presson, Senior Managing Director, B. Riley & Co.
The four day conference will feature presentations by approximately 150 companies in a variety of industries, including retail, restaurants, semiconductors, technology hardware, software, IT services, communications, media, healthcare, and financial services.
Conference sponsors include: National Bank of Canada Financial; Paul Hastings; Capital IQ; SS&C Fund Services; BDO Seidman, LLP; Mayer Hoffman McCann PC; Goldman Sachs; Hayden Communications; PEM Group; Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton; LLP; BNY Mellon Wealth Management; Squar Milner; RR Donnelley; The Hauser Group; SNL Financial and Global Purchasing Companies.
Media sponsors include: DealFlow Media and Wall Street Webcasting.
Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, is the Official Event News Service for the B. Riley Conference.
For more information on this invitation-only conference including registration please contact your B. Riley & Co. representative or visit: www.brileyco.com.
For sponsorship information, contact Nicole Ventrella at nventrella@brileyco.com or 310-966-1444.
For media inquiries and press credentials, please call (818) 904-0500.
ABOUT B. RILEY & CO.
Founded in 1997, B. Riley & Co. is a FINRA and SIPC member firm providing research and trading ideas to institutional clients and high net worth individuals, and investment banking services to a wide range of middle market private and public companies. B. Riley is headquartered in Los Angeles and maintains offices in Newport Beach, California, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New York. For more information, please visit www.brileyco.com.
Presenting companies as of date of this news release (subject to change):
Company Name: Ticker:
8x8 Inc. EGHT
Acacia Research Corp. - Acacia Technologies ACTG
Accelrys Inc. ACCL
Accuray Incorporated ARAY
Acorn Energy, Inc. ACFN
Actuate Corp. ACTU
American Pacific Corp. APFC
American Software Inc. AMSWA
American Vanguard Corp. AVD
Applied Digital Solutions, Inc. DIGA
Astro-Med Inc. ALOT
Atrinsic NWMO
Autobytel Inc. ABTL
Avantair, Inc. AAIR.OB
Bakers Footwear Group Inc. BKRS
Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. OZRK
Bebe Stores, Inc. BEBE
Blue Holdings Inc. BLUE
Bookham Inc. BKHM
BSQUARE Corp. BSQR
Cache Inc. CACH
Calgon Carbon Corp. CCC
Callidus Software Inc. CALD
CallWave Inc. CALL
Center Financial Corp. CLFC
Centillium Communications Inc. CTLM
Channell Commercial Corp. CHNL
Cherokee Inc. CHKE
Chordiant Software Inc. CHRD
Clarient, Inc. CLRT
ClearOne Communications Inc. CLRO
Coinstar Inc. CSTR
Computer Task Group Inc. CTGX
Concurrent Computer Corp. CCUR
Conmed Healthcare Management, Inc CMHM.OB
Cuisine Solutions Inc. FZN
Cybex International Inc. CYBI
DDI Corp. DDIC
Design Within Reach Inc. DWRI
Destiny Media Technologies Inc. DSNY.OB
Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, Inc. DTPI
Digimarc Corp. DMRC
Ditech Networks, Inc. DITC
Doral Financial Corp. DRL
East West Bancorp Inc. EWBC
EDGAR Online Inc. EDGR
Edgewater Technology, Inc. EDGW
Endocare Inc. ENDO
Endwave Corp. ENWV
etrials Worldwide, Inc. ETWC
EuroBancshares Inc. EUBK
Evolving Systems Inc. EVOL
Exar Corp. EXAR
Exponent Inc. EXPO
EZCORP Inc. EZPW
Fremont General Corporation FMT
Glacier Bancorp Inc. GBCI
GlobalOptions Group, Inc. GLOI
GP Strategies Corp. GPX
GSI Technology Inc. GSIT
GuestLogix GXI.V
Harmonic Inc. HLIT
Health Fitness Corp. HFIT.OB
Hill International, Inc. HIL
Hot Topic Inc. HOTT
I-Many Inc. IMNY
IberiaBank Corp. IBKC
InfoSpace Inc. INSP
Integrated Silicon Solution Inc. ISSI
Interlink Electronics Inc. LINK.PK
INX Inc. INXI
Iomega Corp. IOM
IRIS International Inc. IRIS
Iteris ITI
IXYS Corp. IXYS
Jacada Ltd. JCDA
Jazz Technologies, Inc. JAZ
KANA Software Inc. KANA.OB
Keynote Systems Inc. KEYN
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc KTOS
Learning Tree International Inc. LTRE
LeCroy Corp. LCRY
LodgeNet Interactive Corp LNET
LogicVision Inc. LGVN
Magnetek Inc. MAG
Management Network Group Inc. TMNG
Meadow Valley Corp. MVCO
Mentor Graphics Corp. MENT
Mindspeed Technologies Inc. MSPD
MIPS Technologies Inc. MIPS
Moldflow Corporation MFLO
MSC Software Corp. MSCS
MTR Gaming Group Inc. MNTG
Napster Inc. NAPS
Nara Bancorp Inc. NARA
NaviSite Inc. NAVI
NexCen Brands, Inc. NEXC
Nightingale Informatix Corp. NGH.V
Oplink Communications OPLK
OPNET Technologies Inc. OPNT
Optium Corporation OPTM
Organic To Go Food Corporation OTGO.OB
PCTEL Inc. PCTI
PDI Inc. PDII
Pervasive Software Inc. PVSW
Pharsight Corp. PHST
Phoenix Footwear Group Inc. PXG
PhotoChannel Networks PNWIF.OB
Popular Inc. BPOP
Preferred Bank Los Angeles PFBC
Prolink Holdings Corp. PLKH.OB
Qualstar Corp. QBAK
Ramtron International Corp. RMTR
Renasant Corp. RNST
Rentrak Corp. RENT
Rubio's Restaurants Inc. RUBO
SeaChange International Inc. SEAC
Silicon Image Inc. SIMG
Silicon Storage Technology Inc. SSTI
Silverstar Holdings Ltd. SSTR
Spicy Pickle Franchising Inc. SPKL.OB
Stamps.com Inc. STMP
STEC, Inc. STEC
Sterling Construction Co. Inc. STRL
Steven Madden, Ltd. SHOO
Stockeryale Inc. STKR
Strategic Diagnostics Inc. SDIX
Symmetricom Inc. SYMM
TeleCommunication Systems Inc. TSYS
Telular Corp. WRLS
Texas Capital BancShares Inc. TCBI
The Inventure Group Inc. SNAK
Trinity Biotech plc TRIB
Tumbleweed Communications Corp. TMWD
Tyler Technologies TYL
UCN Inc. UCNN
Unify Corp. UFYC.OB
United Online Inc. UNTD
Universal Electronics Inc. UEIC
US Home Systems Inc. USHS
VASCO Data Security International Inc. VDSI
Veri-Tek International Corp. VCC
Versant VSNT
ViaSat Inc. VSAT
Virage Logic Corp. VIRL
Wet Seal Inc. WTSLA
Wilshire Bancorp Inc. WIBC
XETA Technologies Inc. XETA
Key words:
Retail
Apparel
Banking
Credit
Financial services
Shareholder activism
Corporate governance
Eye
Sub-prime
Contact:
B. Riley & Co.
Ian Corydon
Director of Research
icorydon@brileyco.com
310-966-1443
or
B. Riley & Co.
Nicole Ventrella
Event Coordinator
nventrella@brileyco.com
310-966-1444
or
Media Inquiries:
The Orbach Company, Inc.
Stuart Orbach
818-904-0500
stuart@orbachco.com
Source: B. Riley & Co., LLC
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080327/20080327005220.html?.v=1