Pope & Talbot files for bankruptcy in Canada

Wood-products producer Pope & Talbot filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada, citing record low demand for lumber and the appreciation of the Canadian dollar.

The 150-year-old Portland company filed for protection from creditors for U.S. and Canadian subsidiaries under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act of Canada.

The cost of servicing debt and slowing demand for sawdust were cited as reasons its principal operating subsidiary, based in Canada, sought bankruptcy.

"Pope & Talbot is taking all available steps to allow its business to continue operating as a going concern," Chief Executive Harold Stanton said in a statement.

The company, with about 2,500 employees, said most of its operating assets are in British Columbia. It also has mills in Oregon and South Dakota.

Weyerhaeuser

$100 comments send stock higher

Weyerhaeuser stock rose the most in more than five years after the lumber maker's second-largest shareholder told Barron's the shares may reach $100 if the company becomes a real-estate investment trust and sells assets.

Weyerhaeuser rose $5.51, or 8.1 percent, to $73.85 Monday. The gain was the biggest since July 29, 2002. The shares have risen 16 percent in the past year.

"With different engines under the hood, there's a huge amount of value there," Michael Embler, chief investment officer of Franklin Mutual Advisers, said in the Oct. 29 issue of Barron's.

Embler's firm holds 17 million shares and is encouraging Weyerhaeuser to restructure into a real-estate trust, or REIT, Barron's reported.

Jones Soda

Regional SEC ends stock probe

Jones Soda on Monday said the San Francisco regional office of the Securities and Exchange Commission terminated an informal investigation into stock trades made by company executives and board members.

The SEC office does not plan to seek enforcement action, according to a letter the soda maker said it received Thursday.

Jones Soda has been hit by several shareholder lawsuits claiming executives and board members pushed up the share price, then sold stock before poor first- and second-quarter earnings reports caused the price to plunge.

The company has denied the claims.

Shares of the quirky soda maker sank 43 cents, or 4.3 percent, to close at $9.54 Monday.

Inrix

Startup raises $15M for expansion

Inrix, the Kirkland startup that tracks and predicts traffic patterns, announced a $15 million funding round Monday that will help it expand internationally.

The company's existing investors — August Capital, Bain Capital Ventures and Venrock — participated in the round, which brings the total invested over three rounds to $31.1 million since it was founded in 2004. The company is building on technology from Microsoft Research.

Inrix, which counts more than 40 customers for its location-based service, said it did not need to raise capital, having booked its first month of positive cash flow in September.

It decided to take the additional money to "accelerate several investments and further expand our product offerings to firmly cement Inrix's leadership position in the market," said President and CEO Bryan Mistele.

Microsoft

Thai firm acquired; focus on health care

Microsoft added another piece to its health-care business Monday with the acquisition of Global Care Solutions, a Thai maker of software for managing hospital systems.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Microsoft Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie, who is leading Microsoft's efforts in new fields, including health care, was in Thailand for the announcement.

Global Care Solutions (GCS) makes a suite of software for managing billing, patient records and many other hospital functions. Microsoft intends to integrate it with software from Azyxxi, another recent acquisition, that collects and displays a wide variety of patient data, including routine clinical information, X-rays and other imaging scans.

The GCS software, in use in seven hospitals, will be sold globally by Microsoft.

MediQuest Therapeutics

Patent obtained for skin lightening

Bothell-based MediQuest Therapeutics said Monday that it has obtained a European patent for a technology that can be used to lighten skin.

The technology inhibits the production of melanin and could be used to treat age spots and other skin ailments, the company said in a statement.

MediQuest, a pharmaceutical startup, specializes in topical treatments.

Verizon

Telecom's earnings drop 34 percent

Verizon on Monday reported third-quarter earnings fell by a third from a year ago due to tax charges.

Verizon earned $1.27 billion, or 44 cents per share, in the July-September period, down 34 percent from $1.92 billion, or 66 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts expected 62 cents a share.

Revenue came to $23.8 billion in the latest quarter, up 5.8 percent from a year ago.

Verizon shares rose 39 cents to close at $45.99 in Monday trading.

Compiled from Seattle Times staff, Bloomberg News, Reuters and The Associated Press