CombiMatrix Corp. of Mukilteo will receive a new $1.9 million grant from the Army Research Office to continue developing new products that can quickly identify a wide range of microorganisms, the company announced Monday. The new grant brings total government commitments to CombiMatrix to nearly $14 million, of which $6 million will be used during the remainder of 2006 and early 2007.
To attract more shoppers, online auctioneer eBay Inc. on Monday launched eBay Express, an online store to sell new items ranging from cookware and books to electronics – all with no bidding involved. The new store will feature a subset of items from merchants who already hawk new products at fixed prices on eBay Unlike the regular eBay setup, purchased items from multiple sellers on eBay Express can all be placed into a single shopping cart, mirroring the checkout systems used by more conventional Internet shopping sites.
Amazon.com Inc. said Monday that its subsidiary, CustomFlix Labs Inc., has signed deals with television networks including NBC Universal that could let them sell DVDs of television shows soon after they air.
Washington Mutual Inc., the nation’s largest thrift bank, has agreed to buy Commercial Capital Bancorp Inc. for about $983 million in a deal designed to strengthen its position in making real estate loans in California. Washington Mutual said Sunday it will acquire all the outstanding shares of Irvine, Calif.-based Commercial Capital for $16 per share in cash. Commercial Capital shares rose $1.54, or 11 percent, to close at $15.69 Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Washington Mutual shares fell 56 cents, or 1.2 percent, to finish at $44.45 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Treasury Department auctioned three-month bills Monday at a discount rate of 4.635 percent, up from 4.6 percent last week. Six month bills were auctioned at 4.735 percent, down from 4.75 percent. The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,882.84 while a six-month bill sold for $9,760.62. In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for changing adjustable-rate mortgages, edged down to 4.9 percent last week from 4.91 percent the previous week.
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