plus 3, Loving, but leaving, Detroit - Detroit Free Press

Loving, but leaving, Detroit - Detroit Free Press
US billions for Iran sanction-busting firms - YAHOO!
Europe a key center for sales, small-car development - Detroit Free Press
NEWS OF THE WEEK - Orange County Business Journal

Loving, but leaving, Detroit - Detroit Free Press

Posted: 06 Mar 2010 11:58 PM PST

The first in a series

Plywood and stained sweatpants cover the broken glass, but you can still see the bullet hole that came from a neighborhood shootout in the summer of 2003.

An assault rifle bullet pierced the back of the white bungalow on 32nd Street.

"It was like Afghanistan or Iraq," said Anthony Jackson, 24, who lived in the southwest Detroit home from 1994 to 2004. He was in the front yard on a quiet night when shots broke out over a neighborhood beef.

"I dropped to the ground and dug my face into the dirt," he told me. "They were shooting for five, seven minutes; it seemed like hours."

Afterward, spent cartridges littered the block.

The following year, Anthony and his younger brother, Austin Jackson, now 19, and mother, Cheryl Jackson, 46, moved to the suburbs. Others followed. Six years ago, practically every house on the block was occupied. Now, half appear vacant. Across the street, trash flows from an open front door.

Still, for Anthony, these blighted blocks represent sweet solidarity. He recalls the backyard barbeques, the boys nailing a milk crate to a tree and shooting hoops, bowling on Friday nights, old heads giving kids a dollar for the ice cream truck.

"Everybody had love for each other," said Anthony, walking down 32nd Street two weeks ago. "It's was like one big family. If I did something wrong, my neighbors would punish me the same way as my parents. I miss the community. In Detroit, everyone had open arms.

"The hood is love."

Safety, schools, livability

For families like the Jacksons, the decision to leave Detroit is wrenching, but not uncommon in a city that has lost more than half its population since 1950.

Some, like the Jacksons, are driven away by the crime. Others want better schools or more convenient services.

Three decades ago, white flight led the exodus. But by 2008, nearly three of four leaving the city were black.

A third of the city's 140 square miles are now vacant. In some east-side neighborhoods, up to 80% of the land is empty, abandoned, burned-out.

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US billions for Iran sanction-busting firms - YAHOO!

Posted: 06 Mar 2010 11:22 PM PST

Manic Mike buzzed up: 'Transformers,' Bullock make Razzies worst list (AP)

3 minutes ago 2010-03-07T00:56:45-08:00

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Europe a key center for sales, small-car development - Detroit Free Press

Posted: 07 Mar 2010 12:05 AM PST

China, Russia, India and Brazil seem poised for explosive growth, but Europe remains a driving force in the global auto industry -- especially for Detroit's automakers.

Europe is the home base for vehicles and technologies shaping the American auto industry, especially smaller, fuel-efficient models.

It's also a critical sales center, despite the challenges it is expected to face this year.

Trade agreements have knitted Europe into a 27-country market stretching from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the Russian border.

That expanded Europe racked up 16.2 million vehicle sales in 2009. While that's a 5.8% decline from 2008, it's still 55% more sales than the U.S. registered in 2009. American consumers purchased just 10.4 million cars and trucks during the recession last year.

That's why General Motors and Ford are putting more emphasis on their European operations. Chrysler, bereft of a European arm, had to turn to Fiat's European-bred expertise to save it.

A crowded market

But Europe is, arguably, the world's most competitive market.

Dozens of automakers offer a variety of vehicle types and body styles there, from the most advanced luxury and performance vehicles to India's $2,500 Tata Nano minicar and Russia's antiquated Lada.

While small cars were traditionally an afterthought for American buyers, compact and smaller car models account for nearly half of European sales, because of the continent's tight spaces and high fuel taxes.

Almost in spite of Detroit's lack of interest, GM and Ford's European engineering teams have produced excellent small cars that outsell the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla by a wide margin.

The engineering for those cars, and their fuel-saving powertrains, is going into production in GM and Ford plants across Michigan and the Midwest.

In addition to their preference for smaller vehicles, Europeans gravitate toward some body styles Americans dismiss.

Hatchbacks and station wagons account for more than half of new car sales in many European countries.

They're a tiny fraction of U.S. sales. Diesel engines powered about half the cars sold in Europe last year, but they're a footnote in American sales charts.

At the same time, some U.S. vehicles have great appeal in Europe. Crossover SUVs are growing rapidly as American expertise is shaping vehicles like GM's Opel Antara crossover. Fiat will tap Chrysler for minivans, crossovers and performance sedans.

The next generation of Ford's Escape crossover SUV combines a European chassis with U.S. electronics and features.

With all the sales and technological developments that European operations offer, Detroit automakers, such as GM, can't afford to abandon them.

Contact MARK PHELAN: 313-222-6731 or at phelan@freepress.com.

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NEWS OF THE WEEK - Orange County Business Journal

Posted: 07 Mar 2010 12:34 AM PST

Compiled by Julie Leupold

ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Flat: Businesses sold in OC as 94 deals were closed in February, compared to 92 a year earlier, according to BizBen.com.

TOP STORY
Nationwide Health Properties Inc. bought controlling interests in five medical office buildings from Pacific Medical Buildings LLC in a deal valued at $211 million. The two local acquisitions: a 140,000-square-foot building in Mission Viejo, on the Mission Hospital campus, and a 130,000-square-foot building in Orange, on the campus of St. Joseph Hospital-Orange. Nationwide said the Mission Viejo deal was valued at $67.3 million and the Orange deal at $62.3 million. The other three buildings are in Pasadena and San Bernardino.

TECHNOLOGY
Newport Beach-based chipmaker Conexant Systems Inc. sold nearly $250 million worth of bonds and stocks to pay off debt due in 2026. The company said it sold $175 million worth of bonds paying interest of 11.25% and due in 2015. It also sold 14 million shares for net proceeds of $52 million. The company plans to use the money to pay off $232 million in debt due in 2026. The bonds have an option for holders to demand repayment early next year and an interest rate of 4%.

Newport Beach-based chipmaker Mindspeed Technologies Inc. is looking to raise around $18 million in a public stock offering. Mindspeed is selling around 2.5 million of its common stock for $7.25 per share. The company said it intends to use the money it raises for operational capital as well as to refinance its debt.

An Orange County Superior Court jury late last week rejected a wrongful termination claim by a former assistant of billionaire Broadcom Corp. cofounder Henry T. Nicholas III. Katherine Nichols sued Nicholas in early 2009, alleging she was fired after she testified before a federal grand jury investigating Nicholas. Nicholas faced federal securities fraud and drug distribution charges until U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney recently threw out both cases.

HEALTHCARE
Irvine-based Allergan Inc. is licensing a potential pain drug for the body's nervous system to Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. in a deal that could be worth more than $400 million. The company is getting an initial payment of $40 million and potential payments of up to $373 million if the compound known as AGN-209323 is successful. Allergan also would receive royalties if the compound is commercialized. In other Allergan news, a jury in Santa Ana last week decided the company wasn't liable in the death of a 7-year-old Texas girl being treated for cerebral palsy with Botox.

The jury decided Allergan provided enough warning about the drug and wasn't liable in the death. Also, Sean Lavin of Lazard Capital Markets LLC upgraded Allergan to "buy" from a previous "hold" in a research note, citing a survey of
doctors and a "bullish meeting with management."

Aliso Viejo drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is spending $12 million for the rights to a wrinkle-reducing skin cream. Valeant said it is paying Fort Myers, Fla.-based Spear Pharmaceuticals Inc. for the rights to Refissa, and the companies are going to share profits. Valeant said that sales of the Refissa line totaled about $5 million in 2009.

APPAREL
Lake Forest-based Oakley posted double digit growth in 2009 despite the rocky economy, according to yearly results from parent Luxottica Group SPA of
Italy. Oakley's 2009 results were on top of double-digit growth in 2008, the company said, and were a result of growth in Europe and emerging markets. Luxottica did not break out specific numbers for Oakley.

February sales at Foothill Ranch-based mall clothing retailer Wet Seal Inc. rose an unexpected 4.7%, surprising analysts who were projecting a decline. Analysts were looking for a 2.9% fall in sales at stores open at least a year. Wet Seal, which runs 501 stores selling clothes for teen girls and young woman, said it saw higher same-store sales at both of its chains.

OTHER NEWS
Emeryville-based Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. has extended for a second time its offer to buy Irvine-based coffee seller Diedrich Coffee Inc. in the hopes a rival buyout bid is derailed by regulators. Peet's said last week its offer to acquire Diedrich for $265 million in cash and stock is being extended for another month. The company made a similar move at the start of February. Diedrich is in the process of being acquired for $290 million in cash by Vermont-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., which in December prevailed over Peet's in a bidding war. Peet's is keeping its offer alive in case Green Mountain's buyout runs into regulatory issues.

Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America led an uptick in automotive sales for some of the county's automakers that may be benefiting from recalls and bad press of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. Hyundai, part of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co., saw an 11% gain in vehicle sales to 34,004 vehicles in February from a year earlier. Kia Motors America Inc. of Irvine saw sales up 9% to 24,052 vehicles in February.

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