Business briefs
Published 10:36 pm Thursday, March 6, 2008
Cardiac Science Corp. of Bothell, which makes heart defibrillators and related cardiac equipment, said it will begin selling all of its products under the Cardiac Science brand name. Previously, the company had four different product brands: Burdick, HeartCentrix, Powerheart and Quinton. The company was called Quinton Cardiology Systems until its 2005 merger with California-based Cardiac Science.
Mukilteo firm loses $3.5 million
Mukilteo-based CombiMatrix Corp. reported a net loss of $3.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with a $4.5 million loss a year earlier. Revenue during the quarter totaled $1.9 million, up from $859,000 in the fourth quarter of 2006. The biotechnology firm reported Thursday it lost $12.6 million for all of 2007.
Zumiez shares drop 17.5 percent
Shares of Everett-based Zumiez Inc. lost $3.08, or 17.5 percent, on Thursday, a day after the retailer of youth-oriented clothing and action sports gear said same-store sales fell during February compared with a year ago. The company’s shares closed Thursday trading at $14.48.
Home equity falls below 50 percent
Americans’ percentage of equity in their homes fell below 50 percent for the first time on record since 1945, the Federal Reserve said Thursday. Homeowners’ portion of equity slipped to downwardly revised 49.6 percent in the second quarter of 2007, the central bank reported in its quarterly U.S. Flow of Funds Accounts, and declined further to 47.9 percent in the fourth quarter — the third straight quarter it was under 50 percent. That marks the first time homeowners’ debt on their houses exceeds their equity since the Fed started tracking the data in 1945. The total value of equity also fell for the third straight quarter to $9.65 trillion from a downwardly revised $9.93 trillion in the third quarter.
China plans its own aerospace industry
China plans to set up its own company to make passenger jumbo jets, making it less dependent on the Boeing Co. and Europe’s Airbus, official Xinhua News Agency said Thursday. China’s two main aircraft manufacturing and servicing companies were discussing cooperation plans for the project, Xinhua said. The Shanghai government, aviation companies and other state-owned companies will invest in the project, Xinhua said, citing Jin Xingming, director of the aviation administration of Shanghai.
GM reverses CEO’s pay cut
General Motors Corp. said Thursday that Chief Executive Rick Wagoner will earn a salary of $2.2 million in 2008, restoring his base pay to the level it was before he took a pay cut in 2006 as part of the company’s turnaround plan. GM said its board of directors, which met Monday, also voted to give the company’s new president and chief operating officer, Fritz Henderson, a salary of $1.8 million. The board’s action restores Wagoner’s salary to the level it was from 2003 to 2005. Wagoner accepted a pay cut in 2006, and his salary was $1.28 million that year.
From Herald staff and news services
