Manufacturers

Asthma sufferers have long relied on inhalers for relief from wheezing or coughing attacks. But as of Dec. 31, Primatene Mist -- the only available over-the-counter asthma inhaler -- was taken off shelves because of its adverse effect on the environment. Other inhalers are available, but these require a doctor's prescription. Some people with asthma aren't happy about the change, but lung doctors and asthma specialists agree that Primatene Mist wasn't the best option for patients anyway.

The chief drawback of a law as complex as the Affordable Care Act, the health insurance reform measure passed in 2010, is that it provides self-interested opponents a multitude of places to stick a wedge in and hammer away. But you'd be hard-pressed to find a campaign against the ACA as narrow-minded and dishonest as the one mounted by medical device manufacturers. This industry, which encompasses makers of everything from tongue depressors to MRI machines, has been grousing from the outset about an excise tax of 2.3% the act imposes on sales of its products.

Auto leasing deals abound these days, with offers that often seem too good to be true. How about a well-equipped Honda Accord for $250 a month with no down payment or any other drive-off fees? Or better yet, $199 a month for a Chevrolet Malibu? So, what's the catch? There isn't any if you know what you're getting into. There are always details. You need top-tier credit to qualify. You pay a penalty if you turn that Honda in with more than 36,000 miles. And the payment is not $250 a month because of that little matter of tax. It is more like $275, depending on where you live.

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Jerry Brown is taking another stab at largely eliminating a state $700-million tax break for "enterprise zones" aimed at creating jobs in economically strapped localities. The governor failed in his efforts in 2011 to eliminate these politically popular quarter-century-old zones, located in the legislative districts of about three out of every four lawmakers. In his revised budget Tuesday, Brown proposed that 40 enterprise zones be replaced by a sales tax credit for companies that purchase manufacturing or biotech research and development equipment.

With few exceptions in modern motorbiking, the two-wheeled world has broken down something like this: Manual transmission equals motorcycle (and macho). Automatic transmission equals scooter (and sissy). But in the last year, the most caveman of two-wheeled categorizations has begun to evolve: Motorcycles are beginning to incorporate automatic transmissions. The Honda DN-01, which is rolling into U.S.

Watching Alzheimer's disease steal away the memory, talents and very selves of its victims is hard enough for the people who love them. Now, a new pill formulated by a respected pharmaceutical company and approved by the Food and Drug Administration will do little to help most patients and will bring misery to some, say two medical investigators. The drug, Aricept 23 mg, is no more effective on the whole than the disappointing ones already on the market - but is more likely to cause gastrointestinal problems, wrote Drs. Steven Woloshin and Lisa Schwartz of Dartmouth Medical College in an article published Thursday in the medical journal BMJ. The new formulation was devised to serve commercial objectives, they say, and was approved despite a poor showing in company-sponsored tests.

California's lemon law is designed to protect consumers who discover a serious, unfixable flaw in a vehicle they've purchased or leased. Here are key things to know about the law, according to the state Department of Consumer Affairs: • The law applies to any problem that "substantially impairs the use, value or safety" of a car covered by a manufacturer's new vehicle warranty, provided the problem is discovered within 18 months or 18,000 miles...

Inside a glistening building in an otherwise gritty industrial zone near downtown Los Angeles, young men with trendy hair and tattooed arms sit in front of oversize computer screens and click to the low thump of a hip-hop tune. The place could pass for a video-gamer boot camp were it not for the piles of pricey jeans and T-shirts in every corner of the room.

A manufacturer stung by criticism of what he claims is a devastating new armor-piercing bullet, delayed its production Wednesday as firearms experts questioned whether the ammunition could perform as described. David A. Keen said his decision was in response to law enforcement fears that potent Black Rhino rounds would fall into the hands of criminals. He said work would go ahead on .

Manufacturers' Profits Steady in First Quarter: Profits of U.S. manufacturing companies averaged 6.1 cents out of every sales dollar in the first quarter of this year, unchanged from last year's fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said. Total profits after taxes for about 9,200 companies surveyed by the government were $53.48 billion on sales of $874.57 billion in the first three months of 1995. That compared to $51.76 billion in profits on $847.

SACRAMENTO - A "Made in USA" label has long been seen as an advantage in marketing a product. Now there are in-state manufacturers that want to see the adoption of an official label that declares Made in California. State Sen. Ellen M. Corbett (D-San Leandro) has introduced legislation to require Go-Biz, the governor's business development office, to come up with a plan - including the new label - to promote California-manufactured products. The bill, now before the Senate Appropriations Committee, would enhance California's reputation for making environmentally safe and energy efficient products, Corbett said.

There are some people who will try to find a way to make monetary gain from a tragedy. The aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings is no different. At the time of this posting, seven people are selling their 2013 Boston Marathon medals on EBay, with various pitches to entice people to buy. This has caused outrage in some who feel these sellers are trying cash in on the tragedy of the bombings last week. One seller lists his medal with a pitch that includes: "2013 Official Boston Marathon Finishers Medal given only to qualified runners who finished before the bombing took place.

With corporate headquarters overlooking the hot office market in West Los Angeles, CBRE Group Inc. - the world's largest real estate services firm - finished 2012 with a record $6.5 billion in revenue, and its new boss is optimistic about the year ahead. "We think the economy is going to grow a couple of points this year, and we are expecting our business to grow considerably," said Robert Sulentic, 56, who took over as chief executive in December from Brett White, who retired. Earlier, Sulentic was chief executive of Texas real estate company Trammell Crow Co., which was acquired by CBRE in 2006.

WASHINGTON - Growth in the crucial manufacturing sector unexpectedly slowed in March as companies reported fewer new orders and less production compared with the previous month. The Institute for Supply Management's widely watched purchasing managers index dropped to 51.3 last month compared with 54.2 in February. The reading, released Monday, came in below analyst expectations of about 54. A reading above 50 indicates growth in the sector, which covers a wide variety of industries.

WASHINGTON -- Growth in the crucial manufacturing sector unexpectedly slowed in March as companies reported fewer new orders and less production compared with the previous month. The Institute for Supply Management's widely watched purchasing managers index dropped to 51.3 last month compared with 54.2 in February. The reading came in below analyst expectations of about 54. A reading above 50 indicates growth in the sector, which covers a wide variety of industries. March was the fourth straight month of growth after a slight contraction in November , ISM said.

In 92 years, See's Candies has never shied away from being old-fashioned. At the factory on La Cienega Boulevard, some octogenarian workers measure their decades of employment in hip replacements. Quaint floral details are still hand-piped onto chocolate eggs. An inexorable march of candies heads through tubes the length of a football field, where they're drenched in layers of chocolate - a traditional practice known as enrobing. Like cars merging out of highway toll lanes, they appear from cooling tunnels into employees' waiting hands.

New orders for computers, machinery and other capital goods rose last month, a sign that manufacturing and business investment will continue to add fuel to the recovery. The government said Wednesday that orders for all long-lasting or durable goods rose 2.2% in February from the prior month. The increase, however, was slightly below analysts' expectations and didn't offset the 3.6% decline in January. While far from spectacular, the rebound in demand still offered some encouraging signs: New orders for motor vehicles were up 1.6%, and they jumped 6.6% for computers and related products.

These are tough times for premium denim manufacturers as retailers shrink the number of brands they carry because consumers aren't spending. But for designer denim maker AG Adriano Goldschmied, the crisis came seven years ago when the Italian designer decamped. Even though the parting was civil, key customers began dropping the company's products as a series of design chiefs came and went. Now, as some other jeans makers struggle, AG appears to be back on track. Through July, sales of the company's jeans are up more than 30% from the same period last year and sales for the year are expected to reach $80 million to $90 million, AG executives say. At a time of high unemployment, the parking lot outside its 900-worker factory in South Gate doesn't even have room for visitor vehicles; employee cars have spilled out onto the sidewalk outside the gates.

The Goodrich Corp. has agreed to pay at least $21.5 million to help clean up a giant perchlorate plume contaminating groundwater in the Rialto and Colton areas of San Bernardino County caused by Cold War-era munitions plants, federal authorities said Tuesday. The total cleanup cost of the 160-acre Superfund site could exceed $100 million, with Goodrich, the U.S. Department of Defense and other firms responsible for the contamination picking up the tab, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

WILLITS, Calif. - We've heard a lot in this post-Newtown moment about how California leads the nation in gun laws. But you probably haven't heard the unlikely story of Brandon Maxfield, a quadriplegic 26-year-old who helped drive a notorious segment of California's gun industry toward extinction. "It wouldn't have happened without him," said Garen Wintemute, a UC Davis professor of emergency medicine whose anti-gun advocacy has made him a firearms industry nemesis. In 1994, at the age of 7, Brandon was accidentally shot through the neck with a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol.