AUTO MEDIA OPTIONS: The 2009 Corolla and Matrix models will be the first Toyotas to offer factory-equipped XM satellite radio access when they roll into showrooms in Spring 2008. Toyota detailed the new arrangement today. . .
HOUSEHOLDS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN: Homeowners struggling with high mortgage payments and headed toward possible foreclosure still can take steps to prevent the nuclear option: Packing up and driving away from the house. Finding flexible alternatives is paramount in such high-mortgage, high-default states as California, where adjustable-rate mortgage resets are expected to peak in 2008. See tips below:
CAR BIRTH: Toyota Motor Corp. today debuts one of America's most popular fuel-efficient cars -- for many students and young people, a "starter" car -- the 2009 Corolla. This will be the 10th generation, or "shape," of the Corolla since it was introduced into the U.S. in 1968. The debut comes on the day of Toyota's 50th anniversary selling cars in the U.S. Its American sales and marketing unit, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., has been headquartered in Torrance since 1982, and is one of the South Bay's highest profile companies.
Check out Muhammed El-Hasan's 50th anniversary Toyota story on today's front page of the Daily Breeze, both print version and Web home page.
POWER MOVE: El Segundo-based Aura Systems, a major maker of electric power generators and equipment, has retained a new investor relations agency to keep its investors posted of new developments.
Translation: We are growing so fast we hired someone to tell the people who give us money, what we're doing with their money. More below.
We've heard a lot about using ethanol, switchgrass and vegetable oil as alternative fuels to make cars greener. Now we can add algae to the list, or "green scum." San Ramon-based Chevron Corp., which operates a refinery in El Segundo, said today it is pursuing a research project that could yield jet and transportation fuels made with algae. The summary from Chevron is below.
CAREFUL WITH YOUR CANINES: The owner of Hermosa Beach-based Studly Pooch, a grooming salon, recently offered some advice for area dog lovers and owners looking for boutique pet services, such as doggie daycares, bakeries, spas, custom products, etc. Wes Murph, who was featured in the Feb. 12, 2007 edition of Business Monday in the Daily Breeze, cautions about owners needing to be more careful when considering the qualifications of dog service providers. To read the story, click here. You can read Murph's advisory statement below.
Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Defense Support Program
was awarded the 2007 Aviation Week Program Excellence Award in the
Production/Sustainment category, the defense firm said Tuesday.
The award is presented annually to recognize "best practices" in program leadership,
Designed and built by Northrop's Redondo Beach-based Space Technology sector, the Defense Support Program is the main element of the U.S. missile warning system. The first DSP satellite went up in 1970. The 23rd and final satellite could be launched from Cape Canaveral as early as November.
Our format changes this week preclude us from running James Derk's computer advice column each Thursday in print. But we'll be posting it here each Tuesday. In today's column, Derk discusses why Wikipedia is so. . . wicked and worthless.
Truth, beware. Read below.
TAXLESS ACCESS: E-mailing and instant messaging won't cost you -- for at least seven more years. Congress has extended tax exemptions for Internet users, maintaining a key incentive for online communications and commerce. Netizens will get a lucky 7-year break from politicians trying to decide whether to pinch the goose that lays the golden retail eggs. . . Associated Press story below.
Pelican Products, the Torrance-based maker of hardened equipment cases and flash lights, opened a new manufacturing sight in Europe, the company said.
The Crottendorf, Germany, facility will produce six of the company's most popular Protector Case models to be sold in the European Union, central Europe, Russia and other former Soviet Bloc nations. Additional models will be added to the German facility's production schedule in coming years.
The new European factory will allow deliveries to the continent in half the time, the company said. The move also frees production capacity at the Torrance factory for North American customers.
To learn more, visit the company's Web sit.
STOCKS/MUTUAL FUND FURY: We're getting a moderate level of perturbed calls this morning from readers missing the one page of stocks and mutual funds listings we used to publish Tuesdays through Fridays in the business section. Instead, we are running a quickie strip of market summaries from the day before. And that's the linchpin phrase to remember: DAY BEFORE. It explains a lot. . . .
HELP HAND OUT A HONDA: Know of anyone in the South Bay who has helped a community, or made a difference in the lives of others? They could not only get some deserved recognition, but a new Honda as well. Find out more. . .
STRONG SOURCES. Leading Southern California housing industry CEOs declare worst still ahead in housing market: falling prices and values, cautionary lending, high inventories, rising defaults, possible recession. The CEOs analyzed the situation Monday during an annual economic conference in Beverly Hills sponsored by the Milken Institute, a global economic think tank based in Santa Monica. More below. . .
Of interest to employees at Boeing Satellite Development Center in El Segundo; Boeing factories in Long Beach; and aerospace company investors regionwide:
CHICAGO (AP) — Boeing Co. said Monday its board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to $7 billion in common stock, stepping up a program that has seen the aerospace company buy back about $8 billion of its shares since resuming repurchases in 2004. Read more below.
MORTGAGE-MASTER SEES TROUBLE AHEAD: The worst is likely ahead for the housing market, warns Countrywide Financial Corp. CEO Angelo Mozilo. Mozilo, who heads the besieged Calabasas-based mortgage company, spoke this morning at the Santa Monica-based Milken Institute's annual State of the State Conference at the Beverly Hilton. The Associated Press reports below:
OSI Systems, the Hawthorne-based security and healthcare electronics firm, has received a phase 3 contract order for about $14 million.
The contract for OSI's Optoelectronics and Manufacturing division is from EDO Corp. for delivery of electronic sub-assemblies to be used by EDO in its "CREW 2.1" vehicle-mounted electronic jamming systems currently being built for the U.S. Department of Defense.
OSI had previously received phase 1 and phase 2 contracts from EDO for $5 million and $22.1 million, respectively.
To learn more, visit OSI's Web site.
BURNED CAR? Know anyone who is paying off a Toyota and lost a home to the wildfires? At least the car payment won't be due right away. Torrance-based Toyota Financial Services is offering several payment relief options for drivers of leased or owned Toyotas who are dealing with the wildfire disaster in Southern California. Affected drivers in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties may explore the following options and get more information (see below). Here is the Web site.
Carson-based aerospace parts maker Ducommun Inc. posted higher sales and profits for the third quartes, the company said Monday. Sales were up 16 percent to $94.7 million, compared to $81.6 million, in the third quarter of last year, the company said. Net income for the third quarter, which ended Sept. 29, were $5.8 million, or 55 cents per diluted share, compared to $4.1 million, or 40 cents per diluted share.
Third quarter company sales rose mainly because of an increase in commercial sales. The third quarter business mix included 60 percent military, 38 percent commercial and 2 percent space. A year earlier, that mix was 66 percent military, 31 percent commercial and 3 percent space.
To learn more, visit Ducommun's Web site.
The South Bay's most notorious former company and major employer, Nissan North America Inc., has seen its fortunes sag during the past year. The No. 3 Japanese automaker, which left Carson by July 2006 for cheaper climes near Nashville, Tenn., reports higher sales, but slower profits. Despite downsizing, moving and shuffling execs, it has yet to best its competitors, Toyota and Honda, which are the leading Japanese carmakers and have major American operations based in Torrance. Toyota and Honda also consistently score higher than Nissan on Consumer Reports and J.D. Power auto rankings for reliability and quality. For latest profit report, read below.
Toyota will mark its 50th anniversary in the US on Oct. 31. Watch for the story in the Daily Breeze.
PUT DOWN THE BUSINESS PAGE: And get online at www.dailybreeze.com. The South Bay's premiere media organization launches its Web blog this week for local business news -- and news from beyond. Check for updates each weekday. No more worries about all the news that's fit to print. Here, the news doesn't have to fit. Or print. Just click, read and respond. . .
