GLITR Friday, October 23, 2009

Your report for Friday, October 23, 2009

Compuware profits jump despite lower revenue
Detroit's Compuware Corp. Thursday reported a sharp rise in profits despite lower revenue in its second financial quarter ended Sept. 30. Net income was $28 million or 12 cents a share, up from $21.6 million or 8 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue was $217.9 million, down from $269.8 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Investors seemed pleased with the results. In after-hours trading Thursday, Compuware shares soared as high as $7.60 a share before closing at $7.48, up 38 cents or 5.4 percent. The company closed the regular trading day at $7.10 a share, up 9 cents or 1.3 percent. More.

UM scientists get $6.8 million from stimulus for stem cell research
University of Michigan researchers have been awarded 13 federal stimulus-fund grants to date, totaling $6.8 million, for research projects involving both adult and embryonic stem cells. The research funds were included in the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package approved in February, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The stem cell research grants are among more than 260 stimulus awards UM scientists have received so far from the National Institutes of Health. In addition to using adult and embryonic stem cells, some of the UM researchers will use induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells. These versatile cells are adult cells that have been reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells. More.

Pfizer to add 50 veterinary research jobs in Kalamazoo
Pfizer Inc.'s Veterinary Medicine Research and Development group, which is globally headquartered in Kalamazoo County, will be adding 50 jobs at its new downtown Kalamazoo campus over the next six months. Pfizer spokesman Rick Chambers said some of the new positions will be transfers from other Pfizer locations, while some will be new hires. He said the company is currently actively recruiting drug discovery scientists and researchers in animal health. More.

Midland's Dendritech gets $150k grant for anti-infection research
Midland-based Dendritech Inc. has secured a new grant totaling $150,000 to develop stronger antimicrobial coatings for hard surfaces and fabrics that will better combat the spread of hospital-acquired infections. The six-month project, titled “Disinfection of Spore-Forming Bacteria with Advanced Functional Surface Coatings,” was awarded by the National Science Foundation. Work begins Jan. 1, and Dr. Steven Kaganove, lead scientist on the research, thinks it could lead to healthier, safer hospital stays for hundreds of thousands of patients a year. More.

Asset sales boost Dow net despite lower revenue
Midland-based Dow Chemical Co. reported higher net income despite sharply lower sales in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Revenue for the quarter was $12 billion, down 32 percent from $15.4 billion a year earlier. Net income was $795 million or 64 cents a share, up from $448 mullion or 48 cents a share a year earlier. The key was gains from the sale of two subsidiaries. More.

Former UM president offers state some tough economic love

Former University of Michigan president James J. Duderstadt warned his audience at the Engineering Society of Detroit Thursday that he was about to engage on some tough love.

And boy, he wasn't kidding.

Speaking at an economic outlook event, Duderstadt said too much of Michigan is too stupid -- well, too undereducated at least, and unconcerned about it -- and too lazy -- well, addicted to the old entitlement economy, anyway -- to participate in the new global economy.

And, he said, the state's "do-nothing political leaders" are hooked on obsolete irrelevancies like the culture wars when much larger problems loom.

"The world is full of smart, hard working and increasingly well educated folks all too willing to perform most of our jobs for about 20 cents on the dollar," Duderstadt said.

Duderstadt characterized many of the state's economic development efforts, such as building casinos and offering moviemaking subsidies, as "stupid" and "trivialities."

And he said that while the state is engaging in "well intentioned activities" like participating in the green energy revolution, too much of it "seems to be taking unemployed auto workers and putting them in abandoned plants to try to get them building wind turbines instead of Thunderbirds."

The only answer, he said, is more investment in education -- but that's the first thing the state cuts.

More from the Great Lakes IT Report Web site.

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Ford researchers use high-tech goggles to measure driver distraction
Ford Motor Co., as the final phase of its research into the cause and effects of distracted driving, is using high-tech goggles that measure the amount of time drivers take their eyes off the road to help validate in-vehicle technologies such as GPS navigation systems. The special "occlusion" goggles are used in testing at Ford's Human Machine Interface Verification Laboratory -- or "Distraction Lab." Ford engineers and technologists use the data to accelerate the safer design of telematics systems that keep drivers connected and informed. More.

Automation Alley accepting applications for CIO mentor program
Automation Alley, Southeast Michigan's largest technology business association, is now accepting applicants to its 2010 Mentor & Coaching Program in partnership with the Midwest Technology Leaders. The 10-month program pairs Automation Alley members with a CIO mentor in a one-on-one relationship. The 2009 program featured CIOs from local companies such as MGM Grand in Detroit, Beaumont Health Systems, Wayne State University, Washtenaw County, Central Michigan University, the State of Michigan, and Webasto Roof Systems. Many mentors who participated in the 2009 program are expected to return in 2010. More.

UM survey: local governments slashing budgets, seeking help
Many local governments across Michigan expect to cut service levels in the next year, according to a new survey by the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, a research center at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. With the recession continuing to have far-reaching effects and the state transitioning from a manufacturing-based economy, local governments in Michigan are struggling to cope with rising costs and falling revenues. Leaders believe they lack appropriate financing for economic development and could increase existing substantial efforts at regional cooperation. More.

THE WORLD IN TECH

FCC votes to begin crafting Net neutrality rules
Federal regulators took an important step Thursday toward prohibiting broadband providers from favoring or discriminating against certain kinds of Internet traffic. Despite the concerns of the telecommunications industry and the agency's two Republicans, the Federal Communications Commission voted to begin writing so-called "network neutrality" regulations to prevent phone and cable companies from abusing their control over the market for broadband access. More. (CNET's News.com, meanwhile, says hurdles remain for the concept.)

Microsoft hopes for a fresh start with Windows 7
Microsoft Corp. finally got its chance to reboot its reputation Thursday, launching a new edition of Windows that it hopes will encourage more PC buyers to get back into stores. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer celebrated the arrival of Windows 7 in New York with a few hundred people who had helped test early versions of the software that runs PCs. One of them, technology consultant, Jonathan Kay, flew from Toronto to attend. "Windows 7 will redeem Windows," said Kay, 27. More.

Report: China building cyberwarfare capabilities
China is building its cyberwarfare capabilities and appears to be using the growing technical abilities to collect U.S. intelligence through a sophisticated and long-term computer attack campaign, according to an independent report. Released Thursday by a congressional advisory panel, the study found cases suggesting that China's elite hacker community has ties to the Beijing government, although there is little hard evidence. More. (And here's the News.com version.)

Charges ahead soon for Newsday, and maybe Hulu too
Newsday will start charging some readers $5 per week for access to its Web site beginning next Wednesday, a move many newspapers have been contemplating but few have yet to try for fear of driving readers away. More. Also, Hulu, the free online video site where television shows and movies can be watched in their entirety, will start charging fees at some point, one of its owners said. Chase Carey, News Corp.'s president and chief operating officer, said at a conference in New York that subscription fees could come as early as 2010. More from the AP. Or if you prefer, from News.com.

Stocks: Shares rise as financial, consumer stocks gain
Stocks posted big gains Thursday as investors snapped up financial shares after several banks said they weren't seeing as many loans go bad. The market extended its advance in afternoon trading when Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it expects sales to grow this year and increase at a faster pace next year. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index advanced the least among major indicators following a disappointing forecast from online retailer eBay Inc. Tech stocks could get a lift Friday following Amazon.com Inc.'s report that its third-quarter earnings jumped 62 percent. The company's report arrived after markets closed, and its shares jumped 15 percent in late trading after ticking up only 3 cents during the day. Consumer stocks rose after Wal-Mart said it expects sales to increase 1 to 2 percent this year and 4 to 6 percent next year. Meanwhile, clothing retailer J. Crew Group Inc. raised its earnings forecast because of stronger sales and profit margins. Financial stocks rose after PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and Fifth Third Bancorp each said that bad loans weren't piling up as fast as they had been. Dow components Travelers Cos., McDonald's Corp., 3M Co. and AT&T Inc. posted stronger results than analysts had forecast. More. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) rose 14.56 points or 0.7 percent to 2,165.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) rose 131.95 points or 1.3 percent to 10,081.31. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 4.17 points or 1.3 percent to 326.84. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 2.08 points or 0.4 percent to 544.09. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) rose 1.21 points or 0.4 percent to 295.82. The NYSE Arca Biotech Index (BTK) rose 4.92 points or 0.6 percent to 898.76. Finally, the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) rose 11.51 points or 1.1 percent to 1,092.91.

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