San Francisco Business Times articles from January 1997

San Francisco Business Times archives from January 1997

Economy looks better from top down than from bottom up. (business forecasts for 1997)(Biz '97: An Economic Forecast for the New Year)
January 3, 1997... The outlook for the Bay Area economy in 1997 is similar to the view from the Transamerica pyramid on a foggy day. At the top - the executive suites - is brilliant sunlight, illuminating the economic peaks so brightly it takes the breath away....

As consumers take the credit, bankers may get the blame. (banking industry's 1997 forecasts)(includes related articles on NationsBank head Hugh McColl and Wells Fargo & Co.)(Biz '97: An Economic Forecast for the New Year)
January 3, 1997... While the banking industry is set to enjoy another year of record profits, storm clouds are gathering on the horizon in the form of credit card delinquencies, a record number of bankruptcies and widespread expectations of a slowing economy in...

After record '96, what can market do for an encore? (real estate industry's forecasts for 1997)(includes related articles on The Gap CEO Don Fisher and CarrAmerica Realty Corp.)(Biz '97: An Economic Forecast for the New Year)
January 3, 1997... Even the loudest, most raucous party has to end sometime. That's the overall impression of what lies ahead for the commercial real estate industry in 1997. After breezing through the strongest 12 months of activity in a decade, real estate...

Rising room rates visit hotels; operators hope they'll stay. (includes related articles on chef Pat Kuleto and Four Seasons Hotel Inc.)(Biz '97: An Economic Forecast for the New Year)
January 3, 1997... Bay Area hoteliers enter 1997 riding the momentum of increasing occupancies and rising room rates. After finishing 1995 with average citywide hotel occupancy of 74.1 - the best since before the 1989 earthquake - a full slate of conventions and...

Major retailers believe they have a good year in store. (retail industry's 1997 forecasts)(includes related articles on Levi executive Robert Haas and Federated Department Stores)(Biz '97: An Economic Forecast for the New Year)
January 3, 1997... The jury is still out on shoppers' performance in the recent holiday season, but if all the anecdotal evidence proves accurate at least some Bay Area retailers will start the new fiscal year with smiles on their faces. The double-digit jumps...

Next wave of consolidation could turn enemies into allies. (1997 health care group mergers)(includes related articles on Blue Shield of California head Wayne Moon and Kaiser Permanente)(Biz '97: An Economic Forecast for the New Year)
January 3, 1997... Plums like Sequoia Hospital, Mt. Diablo Medical Center and Brookside Hospital have been plucked from the tree, and several other juicy hospital targets - notably Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley - are primed to fall. But the consolidation...

Brokers seek life insurance through consolidation policy. (includes related articles on Aon Risk Services of Northern California President and CEO Russell Sands and USI Inc.)(Biz '97: An Economic Forecast for the New Year)
January 3, 1997... Local insurance brokers may want to keep their resumes updated and their networking skills intact. Workers' compensation rates may stiffen after several years of free fall, but property/casualty premiums are likely to stay soft in 1997, and...

Biotech returns to health after brief illness last summer. (biotechnology industry)(includes related articles on ex-Genentech Inc. chairman Robert Swanson and COR Therapeutics)(Biz '97: An Economic Forecast for the New Year)
January 3, 1997... Even though the biotech industry lost close to one-fifth of its net worth in a mid-summer slump, 1996 was a surprisingly healthy year for the maturing industry, and could provide a solid foundation for future growth. Faster approvals by federal...

Time to take a look forward, and a look back. (1996 achievements of the San Francisco Business Times)(Column)
January 3, 1997... With another year behind us, it is time to reflect on the 12 months past and ponder the new year that lies ahead. 1996 was a year of many changes at the San Francisco Business Times, and there are more in store in 1997. We launched our web...

Executive of the year. (Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison)
January 10, 1997... Oracle CEO Larry Ellison changes the axis of the computer industry with the 'network computer' No one has ever accused Larry Ellison of modesty, and his goals for the new year are as ostentatious as the man himself. His agenda for 1997...

Kaiser to merge state operations. (Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.; California)
January 10, 1997... Kaiser Permanente is expected to announce next week that it is merging its two gigantic Northern and Southern California regions into a single statewide unit, according to inside sources at the Oakland HMO behemoth. Depending on where the...

Are changes in store at Gump's? (Hanover Direct Inc.)
January 10, 1997... A reorganization of Gump's parent company has sent the venerable retailer's mail-order business packing for the East Coast and clouded the future of its Union Square store. As part of a reorganization announced in December, Hanover Direct Inc....

Short-stay travelers head for bright lights, big cities.
January 10, 1997... It wasn't too long ago that cities such as New York, Chicago and Las Vegas inspired images of urban grit, random street violence and seediness - hardly the kind of place for a vacation. Indeed, travelers looking to unwind preferred safer venues...

Visa plays the China card in bid for high growth in Asia. (Visa International)
January 10, 1997... The head of Visa International has headed to China to help cement the company's tenfold growth rate and pursue its goal of turning China into world's second-largest nation of card-holders. Visa president and CEO Edmund Jensen went to Beijing...

Hot-hand Luke. (real estate dealmaker Luke Brugnara)
January 10, 1997... Brash dealmaker returns, armed with cash and bombast Luke Brugnara is back. More than two years after being rebuffed in his efforts to buy the Chevron Corp. headquarters building, San Francisco's youngest and most colorful real estate...

Warner Bros. veteran aims to animate Sharper Image earnings. (Sharper Image Corp.; Barry Gilbert)
January 10, 1997... San Francisco gadget marketer Sharper Image Corp. has taken an unprecedented step to turn around its flagging retail and catalog business, recruiting an outsider as vice chairman and chief operating officer. Founder and CEO Richard Thalheimer...

How to work out at lunch exercises workers' minds.
January 10, 1997... For those seeking a rush, or maybe just in one, adding a midday exercise session can expand the benefit - if not the length - of lunch hour. Noontime aerobicizers, weight lifters, runners and swimmers come in all sexes and sizes, but have one...

Execs' toughest exercise is working in a workout.
January 10, 1997... On-call trainers, home gyms help harried executives avoid turning physical assets into liabilities For Ernesto Aguirre, president of Joe Boxer apparel group in San Francisco, finding time to work out is an uphill battle. "I never have time...

Contra Costa deconstructs building codes. (Contra Costa County, California)
January 10, 1997... Pro-business move seeks to untangle web of regulations Streamline it and they will build. That's the philosophy behind an effort in Contra Costa County to eliminate legions of local building code requirements and create a more pro-business...

Travel agents watch as their profit margins take flight.
January 10, 1997... Big changes in the way travel agencies work with vendors continued to ripple through the industry in 1996, leading most large players to chase volume at the expense of gross margins. All but two of the 25 largest Bay Area travel agencies...

High-flying Forte Software to expand in Oakland - for now. (Forte Software Inc.)
January 10, 1997... Forte Software Inc., one of the rising stars of Oakland's business community, is close to signing a lease to more than double the size of its headquarters. Forte wants to lease an additional 75,000 square feet at 1800 Harrison St. The rapidly...

Ad buyer overcomes fuzzy reception. (Becker Media)
January 10, 1997... After two false starts and some soul searching, Roger Becker finally found his entrepreneurial niche with Becker Media, which buys radio and TV air time for midsize advertisers. When he graduated from college, Becker took a job in sales at a...

Congress sharpens its ax for swing at taxes.
January 10, 1997... Big tax cuts may be out in 1997, but with both political parties wanting to provide relief for taxpayers, small businesses and entrepreneurs could be the beneficiaries of "targeted tax cuts" next year. Small-business owners generally support...

Foreign-owned employers help Bay Area gain currency.
January 10, 1997... International expansion has taken the region's companies far afield, but it has also brought big bucks to the Bay Area. Not only are foreign companies investing heavily in this area, they are also setting up research and development arms here...

Pipeline of biotech products ready to gush. (introduction of new drugs by Bay Area biotechnology firms)
January 17, 1997... Bay Area biotech giants have a flood of drugs surging toward the end of the product pipeline - a far cry from not-so-distant days when new drugs flowed from the industry more in a trickle than a torrent. Major players such as Genentech Inc.,...

In hot pursuit of Asian money. (Pacific Stock Exchange Inc.'s efforts to improve Asian ties)
January 17, 1997... PSE wants to be capital gateway The Pacific Stock Exchange has joined forces with California's top officials to sell this region as the capital gateway to Asia - for both the United States and Europe. In a flurry of trade missions and...

Anti-skid invention puts ex-defense firm on track. (BEI Sensors and Systems Co.)
January 17, 1997... BEI Sensors & Systems Co., a manufacturer of sensing and tracking products for the defense and aerospace industries, is increasingly taking its high-flying show on the road - literally. Since securing a large-scale production contract with...

Perfect match. (businessman Ron Posner's to establish an investment fund with Tanner Unman & Co.)
January 17, 1997... Wheeler-dealer, investment bank aim cash at 'Net Voracious dealmaker Ron Posner plans to start a $20 million to $30 million investment fund to serve as his vehicle for a new generation of deals. Posner will sever ties to Graphix Zone; where...

Bay Area trade booms, wakes up competition.
January 17, 1997... Trade has shot ahead again in the Bay Area, but for the first time in years, it hasn't keep up with the national average. Continuing its trend of double-digit growth, the San Francisco U.S. Customs District saw $79.8 billion in total trade for...

PacTel turns on, tunes in to digital wireless TV. (Pacific Telesis Cable's planned digital wireless cable service)
January 17, 1997... In its latest foray into the ever-converging world of communications technologies, Pacific Telesis Group will soon unveil a digital "wireless cable" service and go head-to-head with cable and satellite TV providers. The service, called Pacific...

SBA hopes bank will climb aboard its Export Express. (Small Business Administration)
January 17, 1997... Small-business owners reluctant to expand their businesses globally because of overwhelming paperwork and cumbersome regulations may want to reconsider. The U.S. Small Business Administration is developing a program called SBA Export Express...

Pacific Telesis rings in new ear by answering SBC's call. (SBC Communication Inc.'s acquisition of Pacific Telesis Group)(Special Report: Deals of the Year)
January 17, 1997... Washington's sweeping telecommunications reform last year touched off a firestorm of billion-dollar mergers, and one of the biggest was the $23.8 billion acquisition of San Francisco-based Pacific Telesis by southwestern telecom powerhouse SBC...

Left at the altar. (failed transactions of Bay Area companies in 1996)(Special Report: Deals of the Year)
January 17, 1997... With mergers, deals and other transactions raging through the buoyant Bay Area economy, suitors' ardor occasionally got the better of them. Here are some transactions that not only weren't made in heaven, they ended up not being made at all....

S.F. janitorial firm suits up to clean up in New York. (San Francisco-based ABM Industries' East Coast expansion)
January 17, 1997... San Francisco's ABM Industries has recruited the former CEO of its archrival in the janitorial services industry and is launching a full-scale attack on the Eastern Seaboard office-cleaning market. Bill Steele, president and CEO of ABM, has...

Venture fund fattens up by pouring syrup into portfolio. (Dartford Partnership and McCown De Leeuw & Co.'s acquisition of syrups and pancake mix manufacturing company, Mrs. Butterworth)
January 17, 1997... San Francisco-based Dartford Partnership and McCown De Leeuw & Co., a private investment firm in Menlo Park, has added Mrs. Butterworth's syrups and pancake mixes to its pantry of 29 portfolio companies. The buyers are purchasing Mrs....

Kaiser gets out of landlord business. (Kaiser Permanente sale of properties in Oakland, CA)
January 17, 1997... Kaiser Permanente is selling six residential properties in Oakland's Cerrito neighborhood, reflecting a shift in the HMO's plans for growth several years ago. The six properties - three single-family homes, a duplex, triplex and four-unit...

Executive profile. (Mootz & Company Inc. President Nancy Mootz)
January 17, 1997... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Nancy Mootz. Company: Mootz & Company Inc., the San Francisco-based developer and operator of restaurants. Title: President. Education: Bachelors degree in economics from Stanford University; MBA from Harvard...

Strategy was in, synergy was out in '96 wave of mergers. (Bay Area mergers)(Special Report: Deal of the Year)
January 17, 1997... Last year's largest mergers and acquisitions suggest how strategic planning and common sense have returned to the negotiating table. Far fewer mergers are being justified with mindless references to synergy and talk of two plus two equaling...

Warning: Sofia scotch is hard to swallow. (DHL Worldwide Express study on doing business in eastern Europe)
January 17, 1997... WAGING REAL BETS: Scotch drinkers beware: A single malt in Sofia can set you back 15 bucks. And if you're looking for cheap office space, steer clear of Moscow, where it will cost about five times its equivalent in London. Those and other...

Japanese company offers free Internet service - with a catch. (Cyber FreeWay)
January 17, 1997... A Japanese company has come to San Jose offering something that may seem too good to be true: free Internet service. Cyber FreeWay is offering no charges after a one-time hookup fee of $30. Most Internet providers charge about $20 a month for...

Grocer takes on 'corporate logo city.' (Good Life Grocery owner Lester Zeidman)
January 17, 1997... Remember "food conspiracies"? Nowadays they are known as buying clubs, but back in the early 1970s, grass-roots food co-ops that purchased from alternative wholesalers had a counterculture bent. "It was all politically based," said Lester...

Silversmiths refuse to go the way of the blacksmith.
January 17, 1997... Silversmiths have heated, hammered, cooled, buffed, polished and showcased the malleable metal for centuries. Far from a dying breed, American silversmiths are catering to a renewed appreciation for one-of-a-kind pieces. "We are still going...

Peninsula developer plots 69-acre Milpitas business park. (Warehouse Properties' acquisition of Fleming Business Park)
January 17, 1997... A San Mateo developer has submitted plans to Milpitas for a 1.4-million-square-foot business park to be built on 69 acres abutting Interstate 680 and Montague Expressway. Warehouse Properties, a San Mateo developer, last month purchased...

Sex and the single high-tech executive. (testimony of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in the case against a former employee)(Editorial)
January 17, 1997... Larry Ellison, get out of the office. Ellison, the hard-driving CEO of Oracle Corp., has never been known to spurn long hours. As a consequence, the billionaire software chief occasionally has found not only his professional life, but also his...

Sobering report on mergers & accusations. (high failure rates of mergers)
January 17, 1997... It's a sad fact that almost one in two marriages ends in divorce. Corporate couplings, it seems, do even worse. Like marriages, all but the most hostile of mergers begin with the partners whispering sweetly to each other, burbling about...

Bitter response to a Mary Bitterman hit piece. (KQED Pres. and CEO Mary Bitterman)
January 17, 1997... Despite the controversy over a single program - the never-produced profile of Robert Mondavi - last year was a momentous one for KQED in a very positive sense. It was a year in which many of the problems that had plagued the organization since...

U.S. business people have a world of topics to talk about. (Foreign Policy Association's survey on international issues)
January 17, 1997... What do grandmothers, soccer moms and CEOs have in common? These days, they're all sitting around discussing foreign policy issues. This month, the Foreign Policy Association, a New York based not-for-profit, published the ballot results of...

PacBell rivals make angry call; AT&T, MCI and CalTech cry foul to PUC. (California Public Utilities Commission)
January 24, 1997... Charging Pacific Bell with obstructing or sabotaging their entry into California's local phone market, AT&T, MCI and CalTech Communications have filed separate complaints with the California Public Utilities Commission. The trio allege that...

Wells Fargo wagon runs over feet in the West; irate Nevada, Arizona pull reins in on their business. (complaints from consumers and public officials)
January 24, 1997... Angered by cuts in popular banking services and a rising tide of complaints from consumers, public officials in Nevada and Arizona are pulling government business from Wells Fargo Bank or threatening to do so. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo...

Fashion Center mothballed. (Crow Family Holdings' withdrawal of bid to purchase San Francisco Fashion Center)
January 24, 1997... Crow Family Holdings has dropped its bid to purchase the San Francisco Fashion Center, forcing the current owner to mothball the troubled wholesale trade mart at Eighth and Townsend streets. Executives with Crow Family Holdings in Dallas...

Esprit dressed to thrill. (Esprit de Corp.'s retail plan)
January 24, 1997... Long-beleaguered Esprit de Corp. is preparing to launch an ambitious retail push. The San Francisco-based clothing company will upgrade and expand Esprit's "shop-in-shop" displays in 100 department stores in the next year, as well as introduce...

Spas add weighty offerings to shed the 'fat farms' label.(Health Care Quarterly)
January 24, 1997... If your first thought when the word "spa" pops up is a boot camp-like fat farm where people go for a week to drop 10 pounds and $3,000, think again. New ways of thinking about stress and its effects on health and happiness, and a panoply of...

Massive U.K. trade mission brings Britain to the Bay. (San Francisco Bay Area)
January 24, 1997... One of the Bay Area's major island trade partners is launching a massive drive to increase its visibility here - and it's not Japan. The United Kingdom will undertake a 100-da promotion of British business in the Bay Area starting March 24 that...

Raised voices: multimedia makes S.F. new center for voice-over work. (San Francisco, CA)
January 24, 1997... If you possess the flying skills of an intergalactic spaceship captain or the spell-casting power of a medieval wizard, multimedia developers are looking for you. Well, maybe just your voice. Once used only for TV and radio commercials,...

Tri-Valley seeks growth, but not at any cost. (economic growth)
January 24, 1997... Hoping to encourage robust economic growth but also to avoid some of the attendant quality-of-life problems such growth can create, a public-private coalition in the Tri-Valley region has put together a working blueprint aimed at navigating that...

Internet firm goes to office rather than stay @Home. (plan to launch business service in San Franciso Bay Area)
January 24, 1997... Home, the fast-growing Redwood City-based Internet company, is preparing to spend more time @Work. The company will launch its business service in February with a goal of signing up 1,000 businesses nationally and at least 150 in the Bay Area....

Retail technology firm finds a new appliance at Sears. (Quickresponse Systems' development of new program that take orders electronically)
January 24, 1997... Quickresponse Systems is preparing to take a program developed jointly with Sears to other retailers, opening up a whole new market of low-end users of electronic data interchange. Taking advantage of the Internet and internal computer...

Critics debunk FDA claim of miracle cure for drug process. (Food and Drug Administration)(Health Care Quarterly)
January 24, 1997... When Gilead Sciences won approval last spring for a drug that prevents AIDS-related blindness, it was an across-the-board breakthrough. Not only did it offer a key drug to battle the effects of AIDS, but it was also a landmark case for the Food...

Hotel, sports complex could shine new light on Shadelands. (Walnut Creek, CA's business park)
January 24, 1997... Walnut Creek's Shadelands business park, which hasn't seen major building in years, is being eyed for two projects that could help revitalize the stagnant area. Under consideration: * A hotel with more than 100 rooms that would target...

Agency ponders life after Kessler. (Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kesller)(Health Care Quarterly)
January 24, 1997... A defining trestle on president Clinton's "bridge to the 21st century" will be the choice of David Kessler's replacement as Food and Drug Administration commissioner. During his six years there, supporters say Kessler introduced a radical...

Loans extend boundary of Silicon Valley - to Chicago. (Silicon Valley Bank; Chicago, IL)
January 24, 1997... Silicon Valley Bank is taking its successful strategy of lending to young technology companies to the heart of the Midwest. The bank has made 10 loans in the Chicago area over the past six months. Although the Windy City may not quickly come to...

Seeking to heal the wounds of modern medicine. (California Medical Association CEO Jack Lewin)(Health Care Quarterly)
January 24, 1997... On the wall of Dr. Jack Lewin's South-of-Market office at the California Medical Association hangs a plaque quoting novelist Ward Just: "Only mediocrities can rise to the top in a system that won't tolerate wave makers." The CMA has been...

Japanese market picks up for AirTouch. (AirTouch Communications)
January 24, 1997... AirTouch Communications has signed three new contracts in the world's fastest-growing nation for cellular phones, making Japan its largest overseas market. The San Francisco company announced Jan. 20 that it had begun service in Hokuriku,...

To HMOs, an M.D. is just another working stiff. (health maintenance organizations; medical doctor)(Health Care Quarterly)
January 24, 1997... Like a modern medical Paul Revere, Albert Holloway travels to small towns, warning doctors that managed care is coming and urging them to join his IPA Association of America. He frequently finds himself speaking to knowledgeable but reluctant...

Brown & Toland move by Abel raises Cain among IPAs. (Brown and Toland Medical Group; Dr. Abel Michael; individual practice associations)(Health Care Quarterly)
January 24, 1997... In the game of musical chairs that still characterizes the Bay Area medical-group scene, the music hasn't stopped but it has changed its tempo. That said, 1996 witnessed several of the jolts that have made the medical-group marketplace so...

Executive profile. (James Seay, Lucent Technologies' general manager of enterprise accounts)
January 24, 1997... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: James Seay. Title: General manager of enterprise accounts. Company: Lucent Technologies. Education: Associate's degree in human development from California State University at Hayward. Residence: Danville....

Kaiser remains head and shoulders atop HMO pack. (Kaiser Permanente; health maintenance organization)(Health Care Quarterly)
January 24, 1997... Last year was a schizophrenic one for giant Kaiser Permanente, which led the region's HMOs by a huge - and rapidly growing - margin in terms of enrollment, but experienced severe growing pains along the way. Kaiser added more than 111,000...

Restaurants lobby state for right to stiff their waiters. (legislative effort to impose tip credit system for employees)
January 24, 1997... TIP TALK: Bay Area restaurateurs rallied on Jan. 22 to back a statewide legislative effort to impose a "tip credit" system for restaurant employees. California is one of the only states in the country that does not allow restaurant employers...

Financial planner invests in future. (Certified Planners Inc.)(Small Business Growth Strategies)(Company Profile)
January 24, 1997... When Ramon "Ray" Miller made his daughter, Mari, a partner in Certified Planners Inc., friends and family were skeptical. There are so many horror stories about parent-child partnerships - cautionary tales of personality clashes and internecine...

Dear diary: today I lied to the television rating service.(Small Business Growth Strategies)
January 24, 1997... One of the major marketing-related inanities of the 20th century is the TV viewing diary. It has had an enormous impact on the marketing universe. The fate and flow of literally billions of dollars rest upon the crude and lowly TV viewing...

Consultants help firms pluck talent from afar.(Small Business Growth Strategies)
January 24, 1997... In a small company, every person counts. That's why finding the right person for the job may include hiring an out-of-towner and paying to relocate them. Relocation involves myriad financial and emotional issues for both the employer and...

United Airlines, partners law hit turbulence. (San Francisco, CA's domestic partners law)(Editorial)
January 24, 1997... United Airlines, accustomed to flying the friendly skies, has found the atmosphere on the ground in San Francisco considerably less hospitable. The bugaboo: San Francisco's domestic partners law that forces companies that do business with the...

Maserati economy relies on Model T speedometer. (US economy)(Opinion)
January 24, 1997... If your cars speedometer weren't working, would you rely on cruise control? What if the car you were driving happened to be the U.S. economy? A recent report from the Boskin Commission suggests that our economy's speedometer isn't working...

Attack of the killer trial lawyers: it's time to fight back. (California's legal system)(Opinion)
January 24, 1997... Governor Pete Wilson got it right: "We must reform a legal system that has made the lawyer's briefcase a weapon of terror that threatens to undermine California's economy." Wilson's strong words in his State of the State message took aim at...

Kaiser shakes up its executive suite. (Kaiser Permanente consolidates California operations)
January 31, 1997... Outside verdict: Consolidation "is going to be a bloodbath" Kaiser Permanente's consolidation of its two giant operating units in California is sending a temblor through its executive ranks across Northern California. Having immediately...

Coke pours S.F. ad shop a $40M drink. (San Francisco-based Goldberg Moser O'Neill wins contract to launch Coca-Cola Co.'s Citra softdrink)
January 31, 1997... Coca-Cola Co. has tapped San Francisco ad shop Goldberg Moser O'Neill to handle the $40 million national launch of Citra, a new citrus-based soft drink. The plum assignment is the agency's first major national consumer brand and caps a year in...

Beaming in: satellite company's move makes S.F. prime TV gateway to Asia. (PanAmSat Corp. relocates to San Francisco, California)
January 31, 1997... A satellite-transmission company's entry into the Bay Area has beamed a strong financial signal to two San Francisco companies. PanAmSat Corp. has uprooted its Asia uplink satellite teleport from Southern California to Napa, and its arrival is...

SFO lands in Australia. (San Francisco International Airport plans joint venture to acquire and manage airport in Perth, Australia)
January 31, 1997... The San Francisco International Airport is living up to its name by heading overseas. In the next few weeks, the airport will roll out plans for a joint venture with a local and as-yet-unannounced venture capital firm to buy and manage the...

Giant HMO eyes Oakland for new headquarters. (Health Systems International Inc. and Foundation Health Corp. considering move to Oakland, California, after merger)
January 31, 1997... Key executive in HSI-Foundation merger reportedly wants to stay close to home Foundation Health Systems Inc., the proposed $6 billion offspring of the merger of two of the state's largest HMOs, may locate its prestigious corporate offices in...

Online bank run: customers line up at their keyboards to open accounts.
January 31, 1997... Online banking services are not only exceeding enrollment expectations and capturing an upscale audience. In an unexpected bonus, they are letting bankers harvest new customers far beyond the reach of even the largest branch networks....

Environmental work founders at Oakland port. (Port of Oakland delays two environmental projects to attract Oakland-based bidders)
January 31, 1997... The Port of Oakland has stalled two major environmental projects because Oakland companies were not among the successful bidders. The port had planned to authorize $8 million in contracts for environmental analysis on its bay dredging project...

S.F. 49ers, Oakland Raiders have less to cheer. (fans' ratings for San Francisco and Oakland football teams fall)
January 31, 1997... The playing field is not the only place where the once-mighty San Francisco 49ers are slipping. Two disappointing seasons in a row, including humiliating losses to the Carolina Panthers and the Green Bay Packers, is also taking its toll on the...

Hungry market will still feast on IPOs: flood of mutual fund cash could produce another banner year. (initial public offerings)
January 31, 1997... A fresh crop of IPOs is ready to charge onto the market. The question hanging over all of them: With investors swallowing new issues at a record pace and a hefty price again in 1996, will 1997 be the year in which they finally decide they've...

Fremont's Asian souvenir: $50M in new investment. (new Taiwanese investments in Fremont, California)
January 31, 1997... Fremont was a big winner in the jackpot that California Gov. Pete Wilson brought home from his three weeks in Asia in January. Wilson called from Taipei toward the end of his journey to announce the go-ahead on $80 million in new Taiwanese...