GLITR Monday, July 27, 2009

Your report for Monday, July 27, 2009

Detroit, Michigan hold their own in biotech investments
Midwest health care startups reported $402 million in total investments across 81 companies in the first half of 2009, according to the BioEnterprise Midwest Health Care Venture Investment Report. The numbers are down 9 percent compared to the levels of investment seen in the first half of 2008 and significantly lower than 2007’s record-setting pace. According to the National Venture Capital Association data released last week, venture investments nationally are down by more than 50 percent compared to 2008 and are at levels not seen since 1996. More.

New bosses take helm at Google offices in Ann Arbor, Birmingham
A Michigan native is back home to run Google Inc.'s crucial AdWords business in Ann Arbor. Just how 'Michigan' is Mike Miller? Well, he grew up in Grosse Pointe, went to high school at University of Detroit Jesuit High School and did his undergraduate work at the University of Michigan -- and most Michigan of all, was once on the cover of the Mackinac state historic parks magazine, where he worked summers while in college as a costumed interpreter. Also new for the Internet giant is its automotive national sales manager. Michelle Morris is running that office in Birmingham, which has about 20 staff. More.

Ann Arbor News becomes Ann Arbor.com
Friday marked a sea change in journalism in Washtenaw County, with the Ann Arbor News publishing its final edition, and its parent company beginning to cover community news under the new name AnnArbor.com. On Sunday, AnnArbor.com also introduced a twice-weekly print newspaper that will run every Thursday and Sunday thereafter. More.

Terumo Heart gets new Web site from Ann Arbor's Q Ltd....
The Ann Arbor brand consultancy and creative design firm Q Ltd. last week announced it played a key role in the redesign and development of a Web site for the global medical device manufacturer Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corporation, also based in Ann Arbor. Because its Web site conveys essential information to cardiac surgery teams around the world, Terumo CVS selected the designers and interactive developers at Q LTD to help redesign a more user-friendly and informative site, covering an extensive line of cardiac and vascular surgery products and clinical data. More.

...while Terumo also starts trials of aortic aneurysm graft system
Ann Arbor-based Terumo Friday announced that it has initiated a Phase II Clinical Trial for the Anaconda AAA (Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm) Stent Graft System in the United States. The Anaconda system is manufactured by Scotland-based Terumo subsidiary Vascutek Ltd. The first U.S. implant was performed on June 8 at Arizona Heart Hospital by the principal investigator, Julio Rodriguez-Lopez, M.D. The objective of the Vascutek Anaconda Stent Graft System Phase II IDE Study (G030036) is to assess the safety and effectiveness of the graft system in patients presenting with AAA when compared to historical open surgical repair. More.

Still time to get involved in Goodwill's "Pay It 4ward"

The clock is ticking, but it hasn’t struck midnight just yet. There is still time to involve your business or community group in a one-of-kind fundraising campaign to turn dollar bills into jobs for unemployed Metro Detroiters.

The campaign is “Pay It 4ward.” The cause is Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit, the only organization solely dedicated to providing the education and training Metro Detroiters need to secure jobs. Details are available at http://www.payit4warddetroit.org.

Every $25 collected in an official envelope or donated online provides a full day of Goodwill career training for an unemployed Metro Detroiter. For every 1,000 local people Goodwill Industries puts to work, the up to $25 million in wages are earned and spent locally to boost the economy each year they are on the job. Goodwill recently extended the campaign until Aug. 31.

Pay It 4ward centers around one-dollar donations, collected in envelopes and passed from person to person, until reaching 25 people. That 25th individual then takes the envelope to one of may participating area businesses, including Flagstar banking centers, Caribou Coffee locations, and Drakeshire Lanes in Farmington Hills. Participants can also call Goodwill at (866) 964-GIVE for envelope pickup. Information on pick-up and drop-off locations, discounts from participating businesses, and a printable envelope are available at http://www.payit4warddetroit.org.

“Our employees have really embraced the Goodwill program and our customers appreciate Caribou giving them a chance to support the community, not to mention the free coffee and prizes we’re offering to participants,” said Adam Stansberry, greater Detroit area district manager for Caribou Coffee.

To get started, visit any participating Metro Detroit business. Businesses wishing to offer incentives to customers or otherwise participate may contact Mark Lane of Goodwill Industries at (313) 557-8774 or mlane@goodwilldetroit.org.

“Businesses across the region already have stepped up, but we’re in need of others to help Goodwill enable even more Metro Detroiters to become trained, trusted and ready to work,” Lane said.

Partners of the program include WWJ Newsradio 950, WDIV-TV Channel 4 and the Detroit Free Press.

Note: Today's Blue Box was sponsored by Goodwill Industries. For information on how you can sponsor content in the Blue Box, contact Jeff Lasser at (248) 455-7319 or jeff.lasser@cbsradio.com

Whirlpool lets you 'green your garage'
Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool Corp. said its Gladiator GarageWorks business unit is holding a "Green Your Garage" sale to help homeowners use less energy and shrink their carbon footprints. Included in the sale is $150 off the Energy Star qualified Chillerator garage refrigerator and free home delivery. Additionally, it is offering $75 off and free home delivery of the Trash Compactor, a compactor designed specifically for the garage environment that can help consumers minimize the total volume of their trash and use fewer trash bags. More.

UM study: knee injuries may start in brain drain
New research shows that training your brain may be just as effective as training your muscles in preventing ACL knee injuries, and suggests a shift from performance-based to prevention-based athletic training programs. The ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is one of the four major ligaments of the knee, and ACL injuries pose a rising public health problem as well as an economic strain on the medical system. More.

Caraco Pharma now faces class action lawsuits
The Detroit generic pharmaceutical maker Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd., plagued by federal product seizures, said Friday that two purported class action lawsuits had been filed against it in federal court in Detroit on July 17 and 23. Caraco said neither the company or the executives had ot yet been served with either suit. Without seeing them, Caraco said it believes the suits are "without merit" and that it intends to "vigorously contest the actions." More.

THE WORLD IN TECH

Hollywood puts biggest bet yet on 3-D
When James Cameron directed his first 3-D film, "Terminator 2: 3-D," for Universal Studios theme parks more than a decade ago, the bulky camera equipment made some shots awkward or impossible. Now, five months from its release, Cameron's "Avatar," the first feature film he has directed since "Titanic" (1997), promises to take 3-D cinematography to an unrivaled level, using a more nimble 3-D camera system that he helped invent. Cameron's heavily hyped return also marks Hollywood's biggest bet yet that 3-D can bolster box office returns. News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox has budgeted $237 million for the production alone of "Avatar." More.

Iran activists work to elude crackdown on Internet
The tweets still fly and the videos hit YouTube whenever protesters take to the streets in Iran -- even as the Internet battle there turns more grueling. Authorities appear to be intensifying their campaign to block Web sites and chase down the opposition online, and the activists search for new ways to elude them. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube remain blocked, as they have been since Iran's political turmoil began following the disputed June 12 presidential election. Internet experts believe the government is going further - including tracking down computers from which images and videos of Iran's protests are sent out to the rest of the world. Activists fear their every move online is watched. More.

Micosoft to let users pick browser
Microsoft Corp. will offer computer users a choice of rival Web browsers to ward off new European Union antitrust fines, EU regulators and Microsoft said Friday. Microsoft said its proposal, if accepted by the European Commission, would "fully address" antitrust worries over its browser and "would mark a big step forward in addressing a decade of legal issues." The EU has charged the company with monopoly abuse for tying the Internet Explorer browser to the Windows operating system installed on most of the world's desktop computers. It welcomed Microsoft's suggestions and said it will evaluate the proposal and seek input from other browser makers and computer companies before making a decision. If approved, the proposal could be legally binding for five years. More.

Dell settles discrimination lawsuit for $9.1 million
Dell Inc. said Friday it has agreed to settle a federal gender-discrimination class action lawsuit brought by former employees for $9.1 million. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Dell said $5.6 million will be used for payments to class members and for litigation costs. According to a court filing, the class is defined as all women employed by Dell in the U.S. for at least one day in a C1 through D3 level position -- job-level classifications used inside Dell -- between Feb. 14, 2007, and Dec. 31, 2008. More.

Stocks: Nasdaq ends 12-day run of gains; Dow, S&P 500 rise
The Nasdaq fell on Friday, halting a 12-day run-up, following Microsoft Corp's disappointing quarterly results, but gains in pharmaceutical and energy shares lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh 8-month closing highs. Microsoft shares slid 8.3 percent to $23.45, a day after the software maker posted quarterly revenue below Wall Street's estimates. Web retailer Amazon.com Inc . also missed sales expectations, driving its stock down 7.9 percent to $86.49. The results cast a cloud over what is so far shaping up to be a stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings season. Even so, investors took Wall Street's initial drop on Friday as an opportunity to scoop up shares in other sectors, including energy and defensive plays such as big pharmaceuticals and utilities. More. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) fell for the first time in nearly two weeks, by 7.64 points or 0.4 percent to 1,965.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) rose 188.03 points or 2.1 percent, to 9,069.29. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 2.95 points or 1 percent to 304.72. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 13.62 points or 2.8 percent to 497.75. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) rose 4.01 points or 1.5 percent to 277 even. The NYSE Arca Biotech Index (BTK) rose 33.24 points or 4.1 percent to 843.93. Finally, the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) rose 22.22 points or 2.3 percent to 976.29.

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