Pyramid Brewery Sells

Last year was not good for Pyramid: the local brewer posted a $488,000 loss, which would have hit the millions if it hasn't sold off Thomas Kemper. But even with the sale, hops and other grains essential for the brewing process are still at astronomical highs and Pyramid just couldn't seem to get its costs under control. Today Vermont-based Magic Hat, a privately-held East Coast craft brewer announced that it would acquire Pyramid for $2.75 a share. The transaction is scheduled for completion in August.

According to a press release announcing the sale, Pyramid will continue to operate its offices in Seattle. Read the whole thing here. Investors were happy to get the news and after trading under $2 for the last month, Pyramid shares are approaching the projected sale price.

Topics: Business

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Spotted Owls Rejoice: Big Timber is Hurting for Buyers

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for those in the timber trade. The high school mascot in the North Idaho town where I spent my early years was a logger—wool hat, ax, flannel shirt, the works. As someone there pointed out, everything we have is grown or mined; so until you're willing to sleep in a hole you dig into the ground, we have to cut down trees.

Of course, with the housing market in shambles the hobbit approach doesn't seem so bad. No one is buying, which means no one is building, which is bad news for Seattle timber company Plum Creek. Today it announced that while still pulling in a profit, net income fell from $45 million during the first quarter of 2007 to $38 million during the first quarter of 2008. The bottom line is expected to keep suffering for the rest of the year.

Maybe Potlatch should change its mascot to the Foreclosure Auctioneers, that'll strike fear into visiting teams from Lewiston.

Topics: Business

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Citizens Against Government Waste to Boeing: Up Yours

The DC-based group named Rep. Norm Dicks, along with Todd Tiahrt (R-Kans), April's Porkers of the Month for their attempts to stop funding for the Air Force tanker contract that passed up Boeing Company.

Citizens Against Government Waste accuses the two of trying to undermine the government procurement process to direct business to the Boeing manufacturing facilities in their states. Of course, the reps aren't the only ones questioning the sagacity of the Air Force contract with Airbus to purchase the enormous tankers.

But this is government spending in a big election year so I'd expect the lobbyists, watchdog groups, and other politicos are nowhere close to being done giving their two cents on this one. Read the entire CAGW press release here.

Topics: Business

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Federal Money for Shooting Ranges

Want to fill that bowling alley void? You're on your own. But if you're hoping to provide a different kind of target practice, the federal government is here to help. A press release today announced that applications are being accepted for grants of $5,000 to $25,000 to build or expand shooting ranges.

"Funding from the program helps operators improve their facilities and provide safe, accessible shooting opportunities,”� says Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife hunting eduction coordinator Mik Mikitik (seriously) in the release.

Always wanted to start your own range? More info here.

Topics: Business

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Cell Therapeutics Put on Notice by Nasdaq

Vowing to find the ever-elusive cure for cancer, Cell Therapeutics went from being a small-time Wall Street darling to threats from Nasdaq to kick the company off the trading floor if it can't pull up it's stock price. Founded in 1991, the company went public in five years later, pulling in public investment for drugs targeting cancer and related health problems. And it started pretty strong as far as Wall Street is concerned, opening at $10 a share and growing over the next three years.

But then, almost exactly a decade ago, Cell Therapeutics announced the failure of Lisofylline in clinical trials. The hope was that the drug would be used to combat the severe and sometimes fatal infections cancer that can hit cancer patients undergoing aggressive treatment. That day, Wall Street fled en masse from the company, the stock dropping by more than half.

Over the next decade, the company went through some pretty severe peaks and valleys. At one point the stock price hovered around the $70 mark, only to dip below $10 in 2002. There were a few more months that suggested signs of life, but Cell Therapeutics never really recovered and investors moved on, the stock price continuing to slide, finally falling below the $1 mark on March 5, a no-no by Nasdaq standards. The price has stayed in pennies territory ever since. Cell Therapeutics has until Oct. 13 to get the price back up before Nasdaq will consider taking some kind of action. The company said in a press release that it is "consider[ing] available options to resolve the deficiency."

Topics: Business

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It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To

The mood isn’t very festive at Kirkland-based Celebrate Express where today the company announced a $12.9 million loss during the third quarter of fiscal 2008, ended Feb. 29. It comes at the end of a string of disappointing results that led the company to announce on April 9 that they were approaching people about selling off the birthday greetings and Halloween costume that had been a profitable enterprise until last year. During the same quarter 2007, they posted a $137,000 loss but were still operating in the black.

Wall Street doesn’t like it and the stock is in freefall, currently trading around $4.50 after pushing up toward the $6 mark a week ago. So what happened, don’t people like parties?

The answer lies on the top line of Celebrate’s earnings statement: sales. For the same quarter last year (a day shorter without the leap day bump) the company sold $16.7 million worth of noise-makers and tiaras. This year that number fell to $13.3 million, a 20 percent drop. The sales problem can be traced straight back to that infernal internet the kids seem so fond of. As shoppers increasingly go online for items, getting to the top of a search engine is more and more important. Companies need the top of the Google search and as the demand increases, so goes the cost of getting that prime online real estate. For a smaller company like Celebrate Express it becomes cost-prohibitive.

“The rates for purchased listings have significantly increased. If one or more of the search engines on which we rely for purchased listings modifies or terminates its relationship with us or if the rates for purchased listings continues to rise, our online marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue could rise, we could lose customers, we could be forced to look for other advertising avenues and traffic to our website could decrease,”� the company reported in its quarterly filing to the SEC.

Add increased costs in basic advertising materials like paper for catalogs and postage and you’ve got a real problem on your hands for a company like Celebrate. According to the report, earnings are expected to continue to fall short for at least another quarter if not beyond. Doesn’t exactly inspire an impromptu Chicken Dance.

Topics: Business

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Scalpers at the Dalai Lama, Outside KeyArena

What's next? Money changers at the temple?

Topics: Business

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Kings of Tort Are After Bear Stearns

It was only a matter of time before the reigning champions of class action litigation, Seattle-based Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro jumped into the Bear Stearns fray. The firm filed suit against the (former) investment giant saying that employees were blindsided the company sold out to J.P. Morgan at $10 a share, a fraction of where shares were valued the weekend before the sale. As a result, retirement plans heavy on the company stock options plummeted, Hagens Berman claims.

Topics: Business

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The Fine Print in WaMu's $7 Billion Announcement

Washington Mutual kicked out a press release this morning with a big headline announcing they were getting a $7 billion cash injection from buy-out firm TPG Capital Investment. TPG will get a spot on the board in the deal. But while the bank is starting to pave a yellow-brick road out of this mess it got itself into after betting high and losing big in the subprime mortgage market, the whole thing isn't done doing some pretty serious damage to the little guy.

Open the press release and you learn WaMu is expecting to announce a $1.1 billion net loss for the first quarter of 2008 on April 15. As part of the recovery effort, all free-standing home loan offices will be closed as well and they'll get out of the wholesale lending game altogether. Dust off that resume, the AP has it tallied up and reports that about 3,000 people will get the ax. This comes after the bank laid off 3,150 people two weeks before Christmas.

Topics: Business

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McDonald to Sbux: I'll See Your Free Drip, Raise You Free Espresso

The free 8-oz drips Starbucks is slinging out tomorrow has been a pr spectacular—the hint of a big announcement this week, ad campaigns with nothing but 4/8/08 teasing the eye. Even if you don't like coffee, you can't possibly not know that you can get it for free starting at 9 a.m. But McDonald's, who hopes to start cutting into Sbux stranglehold on the ridiculously expensive, fancy-pants coffee market, isn't taking the promotion lying down. I just came across a banner ad for Unsnobby Coffee, a McDonald's-driven Web site that lets you print out coupons for free small espresso drinks to your heart's content. The promotion only applies to Western Washington and the coupons are good until the 14th.

There's also a cute feature on the site where you can send an e-intervention to a friend that insists on drinking uber-froofy coffee (presumably McDonald's espresso drinks will come in little flannel shirts.) I think this round goes to Sbux for the buzz it managed to generate with its teased out promotion.

Topics: Business

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