Manufactures

Orange County's manufacturing companies backpedaled furiously in the first quarter, slashing production and paring inventories in an attempt to cope with a flagging national economy, a new survey shows. As a result, an index of local manufacturers' confidence in the economy skidded to it lowest point in three years. The index is based on a quarterly survey of purchasing managers that the Chapman College Center for Economic Research has conducted since 1988.

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.

SCHAUMBURG, ILL. At 9 a.m. sharp on a blustery fall morning, about 150 of Motorola Inc.'s suppliers, from furniture makers to sophisticated electronic equipment manufacturers, sat shoulder to shoulder in the company's auditorium, taking a lesson on quality. They were following orders from Motorola to go through the rigors of applying for the Baldrige award, the nation's top prize for quality issued by the Commerce Department each year.

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.

They wanted someone to know--about marathon days spent in cramped, windowless lofts and storefronts, working for wages often below the legal minimum and without health insurance. "We are honest workers, looking to support our families, but we are treated unjustly," said Juan Canto, an 8-year veteran in the Los Angeles underworld of garment sweatshops. "People should imagine us in these buildings as they drive by."

Plastic dinosaurs that "bleed" in green, red or purple when pierced. "Barfnoids"--moving, mutant, half exploded latex junk-food globs with multiple eye stalks. Retro-fit teeth for your favorite doll or teddy bear. Such is the stuff that lurks in the subterranean minds of toy inventors. The name of the game may be "fun," but dreaming up the next intergalactic smash hit is anything but child's play.

The stylists at Fred Segal Salon in Santa Monica were doing about two Brazilian Blowouts a day after the hair-smoothing product first came on the market six years ago. The $350 that Fred Segal Salon charged per treatment was a small price to pay for women with unruly curls, who raved about the Blowout's miraculous power to tame frizz and straighten waves for months at a time. "It was a great product. That's why it was so popular," said Fred Segal Salon owner Matthew Preece, who ran fans during the four-hour treatments and encouraged his stylists to wear masks to avoid breathing fumes.

A drug already on the market to treat severely clenched fingers may also be useful in treating the excessively curved penis caused by Peyronie's disease, researchers reported Monday. If the findings are validated in larger trials, the drug, called Xiaflex, could become the first effective medical treatment for the condition, which apart from embarrassment can cause impotence and pain. The company that manufactures the drug, Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc.  of Malvern, Pa., said it hopes to have approval from the Food and Drug Administration to market the drug for this purpose by the end of the year.

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.

It all started with the Kingston Trio. One day in 1963, a San Diego kid and his friends got their hands on an album by the popular folk group. Greg Deering, 12 at the time, recalls studying the musicians on the cover and thinking, "I've got to get a banjo" - not out of love for the twangy instrument but mainly because his pal already had a guitar. Fifty years later, Greg, his wife, Janet, and daughter Jamie preside over the bestselling banjo-making business in the U.S. From a small Spring Valley factory, the Deering Banjo Co. is having its best year ever, defying the U.S. skills gap and California's manufacturing doldrums.

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.

Over the years, Michael Jackson has graced more tabloid covers than any other celebrity, the ghost of Elvis included. One memorable tabloid photo from the mid-1980s showed Jackson lying peacefully in a hyperbaric chamber, presumably part of his plan to stay young forever. Perhaps inspired by that iconic image, many health seekers have climbed into hyperbaric chambers of their own. The prospect of slowing or reversing aging is one big draw.

Body builders and serious weightlifters aren't exactly known for modest understatement. They often talk about getting "huge" and "ripped," and many will flex at the slightest pretense. But for real over-the-top muscle mania, check out the body-building supplement section of a health food store. The packages feature pictures of mountainous biceps and 12-pack abs, and the claims on the labels border on the spectacular. Take, for instance, naNO Vapor, a muscle-building supplement from MuscleTech containing more than 50 ingredients, including a laundry list of amino acids (such as L-arginine and L-leucine)

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.