GLITR Friday, July 17, 2009

Your report for Friday, July 17, 2009

AT&T, municipalities tussle over cable TV bill fallout
A statewide cable TV franchising bill hasn't produced anywhere the new services or competition its major proponent, AT&T Inc., promised. Instead, the Michigan chapter of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisers says AT&T is "skimming the cream," offering its new services in only 15 percent of Michigan municipalities. AT&T essentially responded: We're working hard, expanding and adding jobs, give us a little time -- we've spent billions extending our high-speed video network past a million Michigan homes. More.

UM researchers study 'fundamental, amazing' change in Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are in the midst of a remarkable ecological transformation, driven largely by the blitzkrieg advance of two closely related species of non-native mussels. While zebra mussels are better known, it's been largely displaced by the quagga mussel, which thrives far from shore in deep water -- and is fundamentally changing the lakes' ecosystem, with likely damaging results for sport fishing. More.

Guardian introduces new solar glass products
The Auburn Hills glass manufacturer Guardian Industries has introduced two new solar glass products. First is EcoGuard Float Glass, a new low-iron float glass designed to maximize solar energy transmission in concentrating solar power mirrors, photovoltaic energy systems, concentrating photovoltaic systems and more. Also introduced was EcoGuard Pattern Glass, a new low-iron pattern glass designed to maximize solar energy transmission and enhance photovoltaic module performance. More.

Plex revenue jumps 18 percent in first half
Auburn Hills-based Plex Systems Inc. Thursday announced revenue growth of 18 percent in the first half of 2009. This increase comes on the heels of 33 percent year-over-year revenue growth in 2008. “This is testament to the fact that best-in-class manufacturers are seeing the current economic climate as an opportunity to reinvent themselves, to diversify, to become more agile and to achieve operational excellence," said Plex CEO Mark Symonds. More.

Howell firm invents better three-dimensional Web display
The Howell-based owner of a family graphic design and print shop is looking for venture capital and early customers for a new three-dimensional online display technology he's developed. Ken Cummings' Real3D Places offers digital representation of stores and merchandise, with 360 degrees of visual depth and interactivity, Pixar-like location modeling, real-world proportionality and rich interactivity. More.

Center for Michigan finds some jobs up in numbers since 2000

The Center for Michigan, the centrist think tank established by former Michigan newspaper publisher Phil Power, offers a list of occupations with growing job numbers in Michigan from 2000 to 2008.

That's showing something in a decade when the state has lost 750,000 jobs so far and is on track to lose a million before this recession ends.

However, the think tank is honest enough to admit that past performance isn't an indicator of future anything. In fact, they note that the Wall Street Journal explained just this week that Michigan's recent gains in health care employment are now eroding due to the depth of the statewide recession.

So take 'em for what you will, but here are the center's favorite findings:

KNOWLEDGE WINS: Michigan gained more than 57,000 highly educated workers in fields such as health care, computer and math-science occupations, education occupations, and business and financial operations.

SPIN WINS: The number of public relations specialists in Michigan has grown by more than 50 percent this decade. The spin doctors now outnumber working journalists five to one!

HELLO, OFFICER: Local government leaders have been quick to complain in recent years about threats to public safety through budget cuts and law enforcement reductions. A recent proposal to lay off 100 state troopers drew wide public scrutiny, for example. But, according to the federal data, Michigan actually gained 100 police and sheriff's patrol officers from 2000-2008. That's only a 1 percent increase, but it is an increase.

HEY, BARTENDER: No doubt many are drowning their sorrows these days. Michigan has 3,500 more bartenders than eight years ago.

FEWER WORKERS, MORE BIG BOSSES: Somehow, Michigan gained 870 chief executives in the past eight years. That's an increase of 7 percent in our roster of CEOs.

GROWING FAITH: Numbers would suggest not all of those Saturday night drinkers are repenting come Sunday morning, but some are. The number of clergy in Michigan is up by 330, or 28 percent.

More from the Great Lakes IT Report Web site.

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Lawrence Tech profs know how to SOAR with planning
Two faculty members at Lawrence Technological University have published a management book that shows how to achieve better results from strategic planning. “SOAR: Building Strengths-Based Strategy” by Lawrence Tech Associate Professor Jacqueline Stavros and Adjunct Professor Gina Hinrichs was released July 15. SOAR is an acronym for strengths, opportunities, aspirations and results. It is an approach to strategic planning developed by Stavros that seeks to move beyond a more traditional system called SWOT, an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. More.

New, redesigned SBAM Web site launches
The Small Business Association of Michigan launched a totally redesigned Web site at www.sbam.org that includes a new free online membership community, daily blogs, podcasts and videos, social networking, online tools to improve business efficiency and a dynamic legislative action section. More.

EMU to expand Autism Center, Children's Institute
Eastern Michigan University is moving forward with the purchase of the former Fletcher Elementary School in Ypsilanti. This will allow the University to expand services for its Autism Collaborative Center and relocate its Children’s Institute. The Ypsilanti school board recently approved the sale of the former elementary school to Eastern Michigan for $2.2 million. Built in 1963, the 40,000 square-foot building will house both the Autism Collaborative Center and EMU’s Children’s Institute. It is expected to open in mid-to-late fall 2009. More.

THE WORLD IN TECH

Google's slowing ad growth overshadows better earnings
Google Inc.'s Internet ad sales grew at their slowest rate ever during the spring, forcing the online search leader to tighten its belt another notch to propel its second-quarter profit above analyst estimates. The performance -- punctuated by revenue growth of just 3 percent -- disappointed investors. The company's shares fell more than 3 percent in extended trading Thursday after the results were released. The Mountain View-based company earned $1.48 billion, or $4.66 per share, during the three months ended in June. That compared with income of $1.25 billion, or $3.92 per share, for the same period last year. Revenue rose to $5.52 billion from $5.34 billion in last year's second quarter. It marked Google's lowest growth rate since the company went public five years ago. More.

June video game sales drop sharply
Squeezed by the economic downturn, U.S. retail sales of video games dropped sharply in June. Market researcher NPD Group says sales of game hardware, software and accessories plunged 31 percent from the same month last year, to $1.17 billion. NPD says this was the biggest year-over-year decline since September 2000. As expected, the Nintendo Wii was the month's best-selling console, while the Nintendo DS was the top-performing handheld gaming device. More.

Sun shareholders approve $7.4 billion Oracle deal
Sun Microsystems Inc.'s shareholders have approved the $7.4 billion sale of the struggling company to business software maker Oracle Corp. About 62 percent of Sun's shares were cast in favor of the deal at a special meeting Thursday. The Justice Department last month extended its antitrust review, but Oracle's lawyers say it's not expected to prevent the deal from closing this summer. Oracle's $9.50-per-share offer trumped a lower bid by rival IBM Corp. and was nearly double the price Sun had before acquisition talks leaked in March. More.

Watchdog: Facebook violates Canadian privacy laws
Canada's privacy commissioner accused Facebook on Thursday of breaching Canadian law by keeping users' personal information indefinitely after members close their accounts. Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart released a report that also accuses Facebook of disclosing personal information about users to the nearly 1 million third-party developers worldwide who create Facebook applications such as games and quizzes. The popular Web site lacks proper safeguards to prevent these developers from seeing users' profile information, the report said. More.

Stocks: Gains in tech stocks extends Wall Street's rally
Hope for more good earnings from technology leaders made the industry an attractive bet again Thursday, a day after a strong forecast from chip maker Intel Corp. lifted stocks across the board. The tech-laden Nasdaq index advanced for the seventh straight day and closed at its highest level since October as traders prepared for profit reports from Internet search company Google and IBM. Both posted better-than-expected profits after the closing bell. What appeared to be a turn in sentiment from economist and New York University professor Nouriel Roubini also helped lift the market. Reports said Roubini believed the worst of the economy's troubles had past, but in a statement after the close of trading he said his views are unchanged. He doesn't expect the economy to grow this year and still predicts the recession will end early next year. Traders had welcomed what had appeared to be a turn in his sentiment because Roubini has been pessimistic about the economy and was one of the few experts to have predicted the global financial crisis. More. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) rose 22.13 points or 1.2 percent to 1,885.03. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) rose 95.61 points or 1.1 percent to 8,711.62. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 5.44 points or 1.9 percent to 287. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 4.29 points or 0.9 percent to 468.44. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) rose 1.74 points or 0.7 percent to 267.81. The NYSE Arca Biotech Index (BTK) rose 20.08 points or 3 percent to 684.79. Finally, the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) rose 8.06 points or 0.9 percent, to 940.74.

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