Business briefs

SonoSite, which marks its 10th anniversary as a public company this week, said its first-quarter revenue grew by 22 percent compared with the same period last year. The company plans to disclose full quarterly results in three weeks, but the initial report Tuesday pushed SonoSite’s stock price up by more than 6 percent. The Bothell-based maker of handheld ultrasound devices was spun off from ATL Ultrasound on April 6, 1998.

Intermec shares radio tag patents

Everett-based Intermec Inc. has granted a royalty license to Intelleflex Corp., giving that firm access to Intermec’s patented radio frequency identification technology. Intelleflex joins 23 other companies that have licensed Intermec’s RFID patents. Overall, the Everett company holds more than 154 patents related to the electronic tracking technology.

Combimatrix has new test

CombiMatrix Corp. of Mukilteo said its molecular diagnostics subsidiary has launched a new genetic test, one designed to look for specific genes and genomic regions associated with more than 125 known genetic disorders. The high-resolution test incorporates technology obtained by CombiMatrix from the Center of Applied Genomics in Toronto, Canada.

Bothell firm starts trials

Seattle Genetics Inc. of Bothell has started an early human clinical trial of its lead anti-cancer drug to see how well it works against non-Hodgkin lymphoma when taken in combination with Genentech’s Rituxan and Eli Lilly’s Gemzar. The study also will assess the safety of the drug combo in patients. Seattle Genetics’ SGN-40, which is being developed with support from Genentech, already is in other phase 1 and 2 tests.

Fed provides money for banks

The Federal Reserve, still working to combat the effects of a severe credit squeeze, said Tuesday it had auctioned another $50 billion to cash-strapped banks. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund warned that further actions are needed globally to prevent more wrenching problems. The Fed auction marked the ninth in a series that began in December that so far have offered $310 billion in short-term loans.

Will gas prices affect demand?

Retail gas prices will peak near $3.60 a gallon in June, but prices at such lofty levels will make many Americans think twice about hitting the road this summer, the Energy Department said Tuesday. High prices are expected to cut demand for gasoline by about 0.4 percent during the peak summer season.

American Airlines cancels flights

American Airlines said it was canceling up to 500 flights Tuesday, perhaps one-fifth of its schedule, to check the bundling of wires in some planes, the same issue that caused the airline to scrap more than 400 flights last month. American, the nation’s largest carrier, said the cancellations could spill into Wednesday and beyond.

From Herald staff and news services

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Unperforming loans at Cascade Bank have increased by about $16 million because of problems in the home building market, said Carol Nelson, president and CEO of the Everett-based bank. She said nonperforming loans are about 1.5 percent of the bank’s total and resulted primarily from deteriorating relationships with two lenders. One who had a loan valued at $11.6 million was described as a well-established Snohomish County developer who secured the funds with 466 acres of real estate and also had them personally guaranteed. The second was a Pierce County developer working in Snohomish County who had an $11.2 million original commitment to finance 46 lots and pay for 12 single family homes. In both cases, sales fell through. Nelson said the company remains strong and will strengthen its reserve position. She said she expects to announce first-quarter earnings of between 19 cents and 23 cents a share later this month.

Gas company fined $1.25 million

State regulators have fined Puget Sound Energy a record $1.25 million for fraudulent natural gas pipeline inspection records spanning a four-year period. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission levied the fine for record-keeping violations committed by PSE’s Kirkland-based subcontractor, Pilchuck Contractors Inc. Although Pilchuck performed the inspections and kept the records, PSE is legally responsible. The violations here involved so-called “phantom leaks,” where a natural-gas odor is investigated but no leak is found.

Windows XP for low-cost machines

Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it will keep selling a version of Windows XP for use on a new breed of low-cost computers for at least two years longer than the older operating system will be available on mainstream PCs. The software maker said Windows XP Home will be available through June 2010, or for a year beyond the release of the next version of Windows, for computers like Intel Corp.’s Classmate PC and ASUSTek Computer Inc.’s Eee PC. Those machines have smaller hard drives, less memory and slower processors than most Windows computers sold today.

Dell says it will cut more jobs

Dell Inc. is committed to reducing costs and will cut more jobs than the 8,800 previously announced as it tries to make itself more competitive, Michael Dell, founder and CEO of the world’s second largest computer maker, said Thursday. At the first full analyst meeting since 2005, Dell addressed the ongoing turnaround of the company.

Smart micro car fails crash test

A government crash test of the 2008 Smart Fortwo micro car, the fuel-sipping vehicle that made its debut in the United States this year, has found a safety concern in side-impact testing, officials said Thursday. During the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration side test on the Smart two-door, the driver door unlatched and opened. The government said that could lead to a driver or passenger’s being ejected from the 8-foot, 8-inch vehicle.

From Herald staff and news services