Quinton Cardiology Systems Inc. said it will begin selling a new automated heart defibrillator under its Burdick brand name to medical offices and hospitals across the nation. Quinton, based in Bothell, will sell the defibrillators under a new agreement with the equipment’s manufacturer, Cardiac Science Inc. of Irvine, Calif. Because of Quinton’s longtime production of cardiac monitoring and stress-test equipment, the company has a strong distribution history with doctors’ offices and hospitals, said John Hinson, chief executive officer at Quinton.
Microsoft delays automated XP fix
Microsoft Corp. has delayed automated distribution of a major security upgrade to its Windows XP Professional operating system, citing a desire to give companies more time to test it. The update, dubbed Service Pack 2, won’t be available to users of XP Professional until at least Aug. 25. It had been set for Aug. 16. People running Windows XP Home Edition will start getting the update today.
Output fears raise oil prices
Oil prices set a new record Tuesday, approaching $47 a barrel, as concerns about Iraqi and Russian output dominated markets that had been calmed a day earlier by the results of a vote in Venezuela. Light crude for September delivery climbed 70 cents to a new settlement high of $46.75 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Home Depot earnings soar
The Home Depot Inc. raised its full-year earnings outlook on Tuesday after posting a 19 percent increase in net income as store and customer-service upgrades continued to buoy sales. The results sent shares of Home Depot, a component of the Dow Jones industrials, up more than 3 percent and easily surpassed Wall Street expectations. The nation’s largest home-improvement store chain said it earned $1.55 billion, or 70 cents a share, in the three months ending Aug. 1, compared to a profit of $1.30 billion, or 56 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.
Borders sales beat estimates
Borders Group Inc.’s second-quarter profits rose 89 percent on stronger-than-anticipated book sales, topping Wall Street’s estimates. The company also increased its full-year earnings outlook. The nation’s second-largest bookseller said Tuesday it earned $8.5 million, or 11 cents per share, for the quarter ending July 25, compared to $4.5 million, or 6 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had estimated Borders’ earnings at 7 cents per share.
From Herald staff and wire services
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