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January 16, 2002
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. has is preparing to sell 7 million new shares of common stock to selected institutional and accredited investors in a deal that will gross the biotech about $51.6 million.
The purchase price was $7.37 per share. The transactions are expected to close by Jan. 18. UBS Warburg LLC and Pacific Growth Equities Inc. served as placement agents for these transactions.
The firm intends to use the proceeds for research and development, including clinical trials of the company’s product candidates, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.
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Callaway Golf Co. will release its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2001 results tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon.
The company will subsequently hold a 2 p.m. conference call with financial analysts and investors to discuss the results.
The call will be hosted by Ron Drapeau, Callaway’s chair, president and CEO; and Brad Holiday, executive v.p. and CFO.
The call will be broadcast live over the Internet. Look for a link on www.callawaygolf.com. To listen to the call, go to the Web site at least 15 minutes before the call to register and for instructions.
A replay of the conference call will be available an hour after its conclusion. The replay can be accessed through the Internet at callawaygolf.com or by calling (877) 289-8525 for calls originating within the United States or (416) 640-1917 for international calls.
The password is 166464 and the replay will be available through 5 p.m. on Jan. 24.
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ViaSat Inc. of Carlsbad has received from Beijing Application Institute of Information Technology in China a $7 million notification of award, including a signed contract for $4 million, for use of ViaSatÕs StarWire VSAT networking products. BAIIT intends to build a private network for video, IP data and telephony.
When installed, the network will be the first major VSAT network to take advantage of cost savings and bandwidth capacity increases provided by Paired Carrier Multiple Access, a ViaSat-exclusive technique that can increase bandwidth capacity by as much as 100 percent.
The objective of the BAIIT VSAT network is to expand the range and capacity of its private IT network through efficient coordination with the terrestrial network. BAIIT believes the VSAT network will improve the capability, robustness, cost-efficiency and customer-satisfaction of its service operation significantly.
Phase I of the network, which is covered under the $4 million signed contract, includes network management installations and more than 50 remote sites and is scheduled to be finished by the middle of this year.
Phase II is planned to follow up within the next 12 months, which would expand the network to over 300 remote sites. BAIIT plans three integrated networks using fixed-beam, high-powered Ku-band transponders on AsiaSat 3S to provide television video gathering from remote sites, high-speed point-to-point IP data and full-mesh telephony services.
"The BAIIT is a technically savvy customer that understands both the PCMA advantage and the benefits of StarWire advanced IP networking features," says Malcolm Warren, regional director for ViaSat in Asia. "There's a trend in the industry towards building higher-powered satellites such as AsiaSat 3S, and PCMA is a technology that can transform that power into tremendous cost savings and capacity increases."
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With a new color model featuring an ultra-slim design and double the internal memory of previous entertainment organizers, San Diego-based Sony Electronics has added on to its handheld line with the CLIE PEG-T615C and PEG-S360 models.
Measuring a half-inch thick, the CLIE PEG-T615C handheld is now ranked as the world's thinnest color Palm-powered device. It features a 320 x 320 pixels TFT color display.
Both the CLIE PEG-T615C and the monochrome CLIE PEG-S360 models have 16MB of internal memory and a dedicated Memory Stick media slot.
All Sony's handheld models feature the Jog Dial navigator to enable single-handed operation through menus and applications.
The new handheld, available in royal blue or brushed silver, will be available at retailers nationwide later this month for about $400.
Available at retailers nationwide in February, the monochrome CLIE PEG-S360 handheld will sell for about $200.
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Gateway Inc. has received the "Editors' Choice" award from PC Magazine for its new Gateway 700XL desktop PC.
"Gateway desktops have been attracting attention in the company’s nationwide stores lately," PC Magazine says in its review. "Consumers love the flat-panel LCDs that even the sub-$1,000 systems come with ... for the money you just can’t get more P4 power than this, which is why it’s our Editors' Choice."
On the market for just one week, the Gateway 700XL has been selling at a rate 10 times faster than the system it replaced.
"The response to our new 700XL has been incredible," says Mike Ritter, Gateway v.p. "This PC has immediately won the respect of influential editors and PC enthusiasts alike. It’s an awesome system that includes the very best of everything: hardware, software, peripherals, the works."
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After a 12-month insurance study, DriveCam Video System says that fleets using its DriveCam video event data recorder reduced physical damage from collisions by 35 to 99 percent.
Initiated by the Hilb, Rogal & Hamilton Co., the seventh largest insurance agency in the U.S., the program was designed to evaluate the impact of DriveCam on the frequency and severity of collisions in commercial fleets and included more than 100 vehicles in multi-geographical areas.
"The data gathered in this study clearly demonstrates the benefits of DriveCam to fleet operators and the insurance industry," says Bill Lindsay, v.p. of HRH. "In addition to reducing the frequency of claims, the use of DriveCam in these fleets has now been proven to reduce the severity of claims and the resulting repair costs."
DriveCam uses advanced video technology to record what drivers see and hear during unusual driving incidents. G-forces caused by activities such as hard braking, acceleration, harsh cornering or collisions trigger DriveCam to save a driving event for later viewing.
As part of a complete driving feedback system, it is used by commercial fleets to monitor, track and improve driving performance. DriveCam's digital recording allows fleet managers to easily view an event on a television, camcorder or personal computer.
"In addition to promoting driving safety, DriveCam provides security and accountability for the driver," says Ed Andrew, president of DriveCam Video Systems. "Now that DriveCam has been in use for more than two years and is installed in thousands of vehicles, we are seeing the dramatic impact it is having on the bottom line for commercial vehicle operators."
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The SAIC board has set the employee-owned company’s new stock price at $32.95 per share.
That’s up 68 cents, or 2.1 percent, from the previous quarter's price of $32.27.
The move reflects a 6.9 percent increase over the previous year.
The next stock price evaluation will be April 12.
SAIC says the three primary drivers in determining its stock price are operating profits, market valuation levels of comparable companies and the value of our strategic investments.
Overall, SAIC operations performed well in the third quarter of fiscal year 2002, so the company’s underlying operating performance had a slightly favorable impact on our stock price.
Overall, the market valuation levels of comparable companies also had a favorable impact on the stock price.
Finally, the value of SAIC’s strategic investments had a slightly unfavorable impact on the company’s stock price.
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Southern California average gas prices ended a four-month long descent in January and inched upward by 2 cents, reports the Automobile Club of Southern California monthly Fuel Gauge Report.
The Southern California average price for regular self-serve unleaded gasoline is $1.19, up from a Dec. 11 average of $1.17, but still down 82 cents from the all-time high of $2.01 set in June 2001. The current price compares with a state average of $1.22, down 2 cents from December.
While gas prices in Southern California rose, prices in Northern California continued to drop. Motorists in the Bay Area are paying an average of $1.32, down 15 cents from Dec. 11.
In San Diego County prices for regular fuel could be found as low as $1.276 in Chula Vista and as high as $1.299 in central San Diego.
Nationally, the average price for a gallon of regular self-serve gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.13.
“A soft economy and resulting lower demand for fuel continues to push gasoline prices lower in many parts of the state," says Jeffrey Spring, Auto Club spokesman. "For the next several weeks, motorists can expect to see a pattern of a general trend toward higher prices coupled with occasional price declines."
Industry analysts say this is because the economy is struggling through a period of flat economic growth at the same time there is the normal low demand for gasoline that typifies the post-winter holidays driving season.
OPEC oil production cutbacks and trimmed output at the nation's refineries should keep the national gasoline price from retreating all the way back to the $1 per gallon mark, but motorists are likely to see a wide disparity in gasoline prices at local stations until a more definite economic trend emerges.
Lower prices returned to world oil markets this week as production cuts proved elusive, tensions in Israel eased somewhat and the war in Afghanistan entered what appears to be its final stage. The combined news caused crude oil prices to retreat from the $20 per barrel level seen last week to the $18 per barrel range today. This retreat will renew downward pressure on gasoline prices for the next few days.
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January is National Mentoring Month, as proclaimed by the National Mentoring Partnership. Mentor San Diego is seeking both volunteer mentors and donations during the month, says to Sue Rye, executive director.
Rye says mentors are expected to volunteer at least one hour every week for a minimum 52 weeks. The average cost to screen, train, evaluate and support a single mentoring match is about $1,500 per year.
More than 150 local residents are volunteering through Mentor San Diego, which was founded in 1999. Most of the mentors are nurturing youths in grades three through six.
"We have a waiting list of young people looking for someone to help them achieve their hopes and dreams and make the world a better place," Rye says. "Think about it — who mentored you? Who were the people in your life who encouraged you, showed you the ropes and helped you become who you are today? Well, you can return the favor and make a lasting impression on someone else by mentoring. The time you spend can be one of the most rewarding experiences in your lifetime. You'd be amazed by what kids really have on their minds."
For information on volunteering or donating, contact Mentor San Diego at (858) 831-0434, or www.mentorsandiego.com.
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Morrison & Foerster LLP have elevated 14 lawyers to partnership. The addition of these new partners signals the firm's strength and reflects its continued commitment to growth. The firm now has 310 partners totaling about 1000 attorneys in 18 offices around the world.
Commenting on the election, Morrison & Foerster Chair Keith Wetmore says, "Though 2001 presented a number of challenges, Morrison & Foerster achieved record revenues and record net income, reflecting continued steady growth in many of our practices. The promotion of these fourteen tremendous lawyers reflects our growth along with the continued opportunity for professional development that such growth provides.
These new partners represent seven offices, including Tokyo, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, San Francisco, Palo Alto and Walnut Creek and critical practices areas such as litigation, intellectual property, corporate finance, land use, and tax."
The new San Diego partner is litigator Eric M. Acker.
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Agency principals Indra Gardiner and Jonathan Bailey of San Diego integrated marketing firm Bailey/Gardiner Inc. have promoted five members of their public relations and advertising staff.
On the public relations team, Pete DeLauzon was promoted to v.p. of media relations strategy, Kimberly Julin was named senior account executive and Tim Graham was promoted to account executive. Jason Ashlock and Cara Sbardellati were named assistant account executives in BGI's advertising department.
DeLauzon is a seasoned public relations professional with 20 years of communications and media relations experience. He is responsible for providing media relations counsel and positioning for clients within the agency's consumer and technology divisions. DeLauzon joined BGI in 2001.
Julin joined BGI in 1999 as an account coordinator and has quickly risen to the position of senior account executive. She previously served as a marketing intern for Market Development Inc. in San Diego.
Graham joined the agency in 1999 as an intern and has worked his way from a position as account coordinator to account executive. Graham recently completed a successful public relations tenure for The Upper Deck Co.
Ashlock joined BGI as an advertising intern in 2000. He began his career as an intern with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C.
Sbardellati has worked at the agency for more than a year. Prior to joining BGI, she worked for Advisor Media magazine as an advertising assistant.
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The Diamond District New Visions Festival, a community festival to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s memory, will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Jan. 21 at Market Center Plaza, corner of Market and Euclid, in the Diamond District.
The Diamond District includes the communities of Lincoln Park, Emerald Hills, Chollas View, Valencia Park, Webster, South Encanto, Oak Park, Mountain View, and Mount Hope.
This festival is being held to recognize and embrace the multicultural diversity of the Diamond District by featuring a unique line-up of performers of various cultures including dancers, singers, and poets and the previewing of digitally created "multimedia stories" written and produced by local residents.
Each three to four minute digital/video story incorporates a key and poignant message from the creator to his/her community.
These "multimedia stories" are the culmination of a project funded by the Waitt Family Foundation in which eight local Diamond District residents, representing different cultures and ages, were selected and trained in the art of futures thinking, storytelling and digital production in order to explore the relevant issues of culture, community and technology.
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