Inverness Medical Innovations Inc., a maker of medical diagnostic tests, said it will close a manufacturing plant in Louisville and shut two facilities in the San Francisco area to cut costs.
The Waltham, Mass.-based company said it will eliminate 56 jobs by closing the Biostar plant in Louisville. The moves will occur in the next 12 to 18 months, and Inverness expects to save $15 million annually starting in the second half of 2009.
Apartment vacancies in state drop
Apartment vacancies statewide dropped to 8.6 percent for December, compared with 10.4 percent for December 2006, according to a survey released Tuesday.
Colorado Springs reported the highest vacancy rate at 10.8 percent, according to the report, sponsored by the Colorado Division of Housing, Apartment Realty Advisors, Pierce-Eislen and Countrywide Commercial. In Fort Collins/Loveland, it was 4.6 percent; Grand Junction, 1.7 percent; Greeley, 7.2 percent; and Pueblo, 7.1 percent.
CU to consolidate business school
University of Colorado Denver Chancellor M. Roy Wilson on Tuesday announced plans to consolidate the business school from six locations to a newly acquired building at 1475 Lawrence St.
The CU Foundation purchased the building for $24 million on behalf of the university. UC Denver’s plan to repurchase the building from the foundation and relocate the school has received preliminary approval from a committee of the Board of Regents.
Judge rules against Exxon
Caracas, Venezuela — A British judge ruled against Exxon Mobil Corp. on Tuesday, tossing out an order to freeze $12 billion in assets belonging to Venezuela’s state oil company in a case that stemmed from the nationalization of a project last year.
Judge Paul Walker noted that such freezing orders are rare and occur in cases where there is “usually compelling evidence of serious international fraud.”
Plan to eliminate reports on animal pollution questioned
Washington — Democratic lawmakers are questioning a Bush administration plan to eliminate requirements for farms to disclose air pollution from animal waste.
Currently, farms must report when emissions of hazardous substances such as ammonia exceed certain levels.
Group finds lead in Disney products
Oakland, Calif. — A sampling of Chinese-made vinyl backpacks and other children’s products featuring Disney’s Hannah Montana character were found to have high levels of lead, an environmental activist group said Tuesday.
A study by the Oakland, Calif.-based Center for Environmental Health found that lead levels in the products exceeded federal, state or industry standards. The nonprofit advocacy group filed a notice of violation under California Proposition 65, a state law dealing with toxic substances, hoping to compel Disney to lower or eliminate lead in the products.
Intel, Microsoft fund study
Redmond, Wash. — Intel and Microsoft said Tuesday that they plan to finance two groups of university researchers to start over and design a new generation of computing systems intended to break the industry out of a technological cul-de-sac that threatens to end decades of performance increases in computers.
If the research succeeds, it would enable the development of new kinds of portable computers and would help computer engineers tackle diverse areas.
The research grant is worth $20 million over five years.
