Moving and Storage Business News

The News Review:

- How one company played with timing of stock options
- Harrison Crossing projects get approvals
- Symantec finds diversifying slow to pay off
- Netcare is investing in stemcells’¦
- Shrinking office syndrome

How one company played with timing of stock options
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Pittsburgh Post Gazette – Jul 20, 2006
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How one company played with timing of stock options

Thursday, July 20, 2006

By Steve Stecklow, The Wall Street Journal

At the high-tech company Brocade Communications Systems Inc. , employees received an unusual request from human-resources managers in 2002: Alter the employment records of several executives to make it seem they joined the company later than they really did. The reason for this strange request was to give their stock options more value. The executives had received options when they joined. But with the tech bubble then fast deflating, Brocade’s stock price had fallen below the price at which the options could be exercised… Canova, who has since left Brocade, couldn’t be reached for comment. Brocade, based in San Jose, Calif. , is a data storage networking firm with just over 1,300 employees. It provides storage switches that are a sort of virtual traffic cop, allowing storage devices to be interconnected. A close look inside Brocade reveals some of the questionable practices now being exposed in the unfolding stock-options scandal. It also suggests why the scandal has engulfed so many Silicon Valley technology companies.

Harrison Crossing projects get approvals
Free Lance-Star – The Free Lance-Star – Jul 20, 2006
needs a special-use permit for the so-called “drive-through” features of the banks, the coffee shop and the car wash, and for the fuel-dispensing island at the Giant. The southern portion of Harrison Crossing will contain a Wachovia Bank, a pharmacy, a dentist’s office, a day-care center, a self-storage facility and a Wawa gas station. Again, a special-use permit recommended last night is required for the drive-through and fuel-dispensing features of some of those businesses. County planning staff had recommended requiring the Wawa to situate its pump stations and the accompanying canopies facing away from Route 3, since Harrison Crossing sits at the edge of the gateway to the Chancellorsville battlefield. project manager Jon Riley stressed that the company has agreed to a 50-foot scenic buffer between the shopping center and Route 3, building design standards and the use of “dark-skies” lighting to reduce light pollution at night… County planning staff had recommended requiring the Wawa to situate its pump stations and the accompanying canopies facing away from Route 3, since Harrison Crossing sits at the edge of the gateway to the Chancellorsville battlefield. project manager Jon Riley stressed that the company has agreed to a 50-foot scenic buffer between the shopping center and Route 3, building design standards and the use of “dark-skies” lighting to reduce light pollution at night. He described Harrison Crossing as “a very attractive development, and one that Spotsylvania County can be very proud of. His arguments persuaded a majority of the panel, which voted unanimously to approve the special-use permit for the north side of the project. The commissioners split 4-2 in approving the permit for the south side, which includes the Wawa. Chairman Kevin Leahy praised Silver for its design work on the project but voted against the southern permit, saying he wanted the Wawa gas pumps to face away from Route 3.

Symantec finds diversifying slow to pay off
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Pittsburgh Post Gazette – Jul 20, 2006
Today, Symantec’s stock price is down more than 50 percent since the acquisition was first reported in late 2004, and it is at its lowest level since 2003. Thompson concedes that making the combined company work may be the biggest challenge he has faced at Symantec, but he says he is moving aggressively and is confident he will succeed. Symantec’s predicament is shared by other niche companies whose markets have grown a bit too attractive to bigger players — and it is especially common in the $224 billion software industry. In software, most small, independent players sell a product that doesn’t already come loaded on a personal computer. When the market for a new type of software matures, it becomes easier for larger rivals to offer it more cheaply or to package it with their existing technology. That leaves the little guys scrambling to stay relevant… “The company looked in the mirror and realized its faults,” says Daniel Ives, an analyst at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. Still, Symantec faces more pressure. It has new rivals now, including EMC Corp. and other storage companies. Meanwhile, threats to Symantec’s security business are mounting: In February, Microsoft unveiled its own consumer antivirus software at a lower price than Symantec’s. Thompson remains unruffled.

Netcare is investing in stemcells’¦
iafrica.com – Jul 20, 2006
Chris Gibbons finds out why and to what benefit for South Africans, and asks if the company is ready for any political flak on the sensitive issue

Chris Gibbons:

Moving from motor cars to healthcare, healthcare group Netcare has bought a 75 percent stake in Stemcell Storage Company, Biocells (Pty) Ltd. Biocells markets and collects umbilical cord blood. And Netcare says that Biocells will trade as Netcell Therapeutics, Netcells, and will process and store the blood at Biovolt, which I am told, is an internationally accredited lab in Britain. Joining us from Johannesburg is Kim Long, Netcell Therapeutics MD. Kim, good evening and welcome to you.

Shrinking office syndrome
BBC News – Jul 20, 2006
The big driver for this is saving money – particularly in the places where office space is most expensive, such as London and the south east of England. The report says that while companies might want to expand staff numbers, they’re not providing more room – and that the amount of floor space left for staff is going to challenge “previously accepted norms”. Close quarters

“Companies moving into new buildings or refurbishing existing ones are occupying at significantly higher densities. and there is increasing anecdotal evidence that the trend is permanent,” says the Knight Frank report… Contact the health and safety inspector at your local council to enforce this standard. David Maynard, Stockport

The approved code of practice specifies a minimum space of 11 cubic metres per person. This includes toilets, restrooms, interview rooms, reception and storage areas and if you have high ceilings. Once you factor all that in 11 cubic metres is not a great deal of space.