Business briefs
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Apple Computer Inc. said Tuesday it will begin shipping this week the new MacBook Pro, the company’s first laptop computer to feature an Intel Corp. microprocessor. Analysts expect the new Intel-based Macintosh products to boost Apple’s perennially small share in the U.S. PC market.
Bothell biotech gets FDA approval
Cardiac Science Corp. of Bothell has received Food and Drug Administration clearance to sell a new type of hospital defibrillator and monitor. The new unit, expected to begin shipping before June, will be sold by GE Healthcare. It automatically adjusts the shock to the patient’s body type and analyzes the heartbeat. Cardiac Science’s stock rose by 53 cents, or 5.2 percent, to $10.81 a share Tuesday.
Eden develops seed applicator
Eden Bioscience Corp. has introduced a new plastic applicator bottle for its naturally-based seed treatment. The new Puffer bottle can be used to coat seeds with a fine layer of Eden’s product, which improves growth and boosts plants’ resistance to disease. The Bothell biotechnology company recently has stepped up marketing of its seed and plant treatments to the home and garden market.
Helix seeking peptide patent
Bothell-based Helix BioMedix Inc., a developer of wound-healing proteins called peptides, said it has filed a patent application for a new class of peptides that may fight fungus and bacteria. Helix said its hexapeptides helped prevent wound infections in tests on rats and guinea pigs. Helix’s shares were up 16 cents, or nearly 19 percent, Tuesday to $1.01.
Ex-Enron trader says CEO misled
A former top Enron trader testified Tuesday that former CEO Jeffrey Skilling set earnings targets to please Wall Street and then expected division heads to somehow meet the targets. Skilling also led an effort in early 1999 to redefine Enron as a company with consistent growth, not a trading firm, said Kenneth Rice, the prosecution’s second witness in the fraud and conspiracy trial of Skilling and Enron founder Kenneth Lay. Prosecutors contend the men lied about Enron’s financial health. The defense teams deny the fraud allegations.
From Herald staff and news services
