Daily Business Report-Feb. 4, 2021
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The beginning of the GameStop saga
You may have seen diamond hands, rockets, and r/wallstreetbets rallying cries in the past few weeks—but what does it all mean? In this graphic we explain the events that led to an explosive rise in GameStop’s share price, along with the Reddit revolution fueling it.
Gamestop’s stock has been on a wild roller coaster ride, rising by roughly 640 percent from the start of last week to its peak. After Robinhood and other brokers initializing trading restrictions due to the heightened market activity, the stock has since fallen more than 80 percent to $90 per share.
But the stock’s volatile price action doesn’t come close to telling the story of how this market frenzy began on the Reddit community r/wallstreetbets, the hedge funds that suffered when GameStop share price rose dramatically, and why Robinhood halted trading last week.
While GameStop’s share price went higher than anyone expected this past week, the initial idea behind this rally was shared back in September 2019 by u/DeepFuckingValue, a frequent user in the r/wallstreetbets subreddit, a community where trade and investment ideas are shared.
The premise of his trade idea was simple: he saw unrecognized value and much more upside potential compared to the downside risk in GameStop.
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Former Thomas Jefferson School of Law building
to be converted into a Class A life science center
The Downtown San Diego building formerly housing the Thomas Jefferson School of Law will be converted into a Class A life science building by a joint venture between financial services firm Barings and Phase 3 Real Estate Partners, according to an announcement by Barings. The building is at 1155 Island.
The 203,000-square-foot, eight-story office building, will be be transformed into a state-of-the-art life science property with an anticipated completion date in late 2021.With growing life science demand in San Diego, the property is poised to be at the center of San Diego’s newest life sciences hub-Downtown San Diego, according to Barings.
Life science demand in this area is increasing due to the anticipated connectivity to UC San Diego, one of the top life science universities in the U.S, through the new Downtown UCSD satellite building, as well as the late 2021 extension of the Blue Trolley line, connecting Downtown San Diego to the main UCSD campus.
Physical characteristics of 1155 Island, including large floorplates, high slab to slab heights, make the building very conducive to the life science conversion, while access to the Gaslamp Quarter will provide retail, dining and entertainment amenities for its tenants, said Barings.
The American Bar Association stripped Thomas Jefferson School of Law of its national accreditation in 2019. The school now leases space in an office building at 701 B St. Downtown.
City of San Diego authorized to receive
and administer COVID-19 vaccine
The City of San Diego has been authorized to receive shipments of COVIS-19 vaccine doses and administer them to eligible residents.
“Increased access to vaccines is great news for the people of San Diego,” said Mayor Todd Gloria said. “Having the authority to set up our own vaccination sites will allow us to create more equitable access for residents and more nimbly get our residents vaccinated and our economy back on track.”
This week, the city received an initial shipment of 1,200 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, and on Tuesday, in Balboa Park Municipal Gym, city paramedics who have been trained to administer the vaccine began providing doses to government workers throughout the region who are eligible according to state and county guidelines, including those 65 and older.
Members of the public should not come to the site. The city will announce expanded access to vaccinations subject to eligibility and availability.
Gloria said he is actively exploring additional city-owned locations across San Diego as potential city-operated vaccination sites when vaccines become more widely available.
National University launches new virtual
reality pilot to train aspiring nurses
National University announced it has launched a new virtual reality training initiative that is providing nursing students with hands-on clinical experiences in a simulated environment. The new simulation scenarios allow students to practice and hone skills needed on the job without compromising the health and safety of patients or students during COVID-19.
With funding from a two-year, $200,000 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, this pilot program is designed to increase access to quality health care in underserved communities. The Department of Nursing at National University’s College of Professional Studies is one of just five programs nationwide to receive the competitive award.
In addition, Las Patronas, a philanthropic organization dedicated to supporting community services in San Diego County, awarded the program nearly $50,000 to purchase approximately 70 virtual reality headsets, and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors awarded $25,000 to cover the cost of software and programming for the virtual reality headsets.
Major automakers coalition to abandon
lawsuit against California on emissions
CalMatters
In a sign that California is regaining influence under the Biden administration, a coalition of major automakers, including Fiat Chrysler and Toyota, announced Tuesday that they will abandon the Trump administration’s attack on the Golden State’s authority to set its own emissions standards. The move comes about a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom called on the companies to drop the lawsuits and a few months after General Motors also jumped ship from the Trump litigation. Ford, Honda, BMW, Volvo and Volkswagen had already agreed to follow California’s greenhouse gas rules nationwide.
The coalition: “In a gesture of good faith and to find a constructive path forward, (we have) decided to withdraw from this lawsuit in order to unify the auto industry behind a single national program, with ambitious, achievable standards.”
Newsom on Twitter: “Good start. Now it’s time to join forward-looking carmakers in the CA framework to protect our air and planet.”
Vista Community Clinic is first
nonprofit in area to install solar project
financed by SunForAll Solar Fund
The Vista Community Clinic has become the first San Diego area nonprofit to install a solar project financed by the SunForAll Solar Fund. The SunForAll Solar Fund was created by CollectiveSun in collaboration with lead investor the BQuest Foundation and other like-minded impact investors. The SunForAll Solar Fund will reduce Vista Community Clinic’s energy costs while also contributing to reductions in greenhouse gases.
“Placing solar energy on our Vista facility will reduce our annual energy costs by $105,539, rolling precious dollars back into our program services,” said Michele Lambert, Vista Community Clinic CFO. “This project not only helps us achieve cost savings, but it means we are concretely contributing to community health and global health by reducing our GHG emissions. The cost savings are great, but doing the right thing is great, too.”
The SunForAll Solar Fund allows tax-exempt organizations to take advantage of solar tax credits through CollectiveSun’s Solar Power Agreement (SPA), which reduces the cost of their solar project by 12 percent. In addition, the remainder is financed with grants and low-cost loans made possible through program related investments with philanthropists and social impact investors such as lead investor the BQuest Foundation.
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Padres promote Erik Greupner to CEO, and
A.J. Preller to president and general manager
The San Diego Padres announced the promotions of Erik Greupner to chief executive officer and A.J. Preller to president of baseball operations and general manager. The two Padres executives have each signed contract extensions through the 2026 season.
Greupner originally joined the Padres in December 2010, making this his 11th season in San Diego. He oversees the Padres’ business operations and leads the growth and development of the Padres’ business and culture.
Prior to assuming the role of CEO, Greupner served as president of business operations from December 2018 through December 2020 and chief operating officer from November 2016 to November 2018.
Before joining the Padres, Greupner worked as a corporate and transactional attorney with the international law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
Preller originally joined the Padres as executive vice president/general manager in August 2014. Under his leadership, the Padres ended a 14-year postseason drought in 2020 with a 37-23 (.616) regular season record, their best winning percentage in club history. He previously served as assistant general manager of the Texas Rangers, overseeing the player development and scouting departments and serving as a key advisor on all player acquisitions.
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Dan King, Gabriele Wienhausen join board
of San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy
The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy welcomes two new board members: Dan King of Carmel Valley and Gabriele Wienhausen of La Jolla.
A resident of Carmel Valley for over 18 years, King is assistant general counsel at San Diego Gas & Electric Co., one of the Sempra energy utilities. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and a Juris Doctor from University of Tulsa College of Law.
Wienhausen has become a docent at the Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve. To deepen her knowledge of California’s unique ecology and ways to engage the public in study and stewardship of California’s natural communities, she enrolled in the UC California Naturalist Program and is now a certified CA Naturalist.
Bill Abel joins Lofgren, Morris & Engelberg LLP
Bill Abel has joined the San Diego-based accounting firm Lavine, Lofgren, Morris & Engelberg LLP as a tax manager.
Abel is a CPA with more than 10 years of experience in public accounting and tax compliance. He specializes in individual, partnership, and corporate taxation, including tax compliance and tax planning. He serves a variety of industries, including technology, SAAS, biomedical, manufacturing, and professional services.
Prior to joining LLME, Abel was a tax manager at Sensiba San Filippo LLP in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Abel is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from California State University-East Bay and holds a Masters in Taxation from San Jose State University.
Tealium raises $96 million in Series G funding
San Diego-based Tealium, a leader in real-time customer data orchestration, announced it raised $96 million in Series G funding led by existing investors Georgian and Silver Lake Waterman. The funding, which increases the company’s valuation to $1.2 billion, will be used to fund accelerated product innovation to address the growing demand for a customer data platform (CDP) that delivers real-time, personalized, compliant, and omnichannel customer experiences to global enterprises.
General Atomics to demonstrate
maritime capability in UK
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA‑ASI) announces its plan to take a company-owned SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft to the United Kingdom later this year to undertake a series of operational capability demonstrations for NATO allies, including the Netherlands.
The UK’s Protector program is a derivative of SkyGuardian with a range of UK modifications and the Royal Air Force (RAF) is supporting this visit.
The GA-ASI aircraft will be configured with maritime capability, including a multi-mode maritime surface-search radar with Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar imaging mode, an Automatic Identification System receiver, and a High-Definition, Full-Motion Video sensor equipped with optical and infrared cameras. This will build on previous GA-ASI demonstrations showcasing the unmanned advantage, which include the transatlantic flight of SkyGuardian in 2018, maritime demonstrations in Greece in 2019 and last year’s validation flights in Japan.
Roddenberry Foundation donates
$100,000 to Comic-Con Museum
The Comic-Con Museum announced its acceptance of a $100,000 donation from the Roddenberry Foundation that will go toward supporting the 2021 opening of the museum’s physical space in Balboa Park. The Foundation’s namesake Gene Roddenberry was the creator of Star Trek, and the nonprofit Foundation supports his legacy through initiatives that encourage innovative approaches to creating a more inclusive, progressive and harmonious society. The donation also coincides with the year of the late Gene Roddenberry’s centennial, or 100th birthday.
The main lobby of the museum will be named after the Roddenberry Foundation in recognition of the donation. The donation is the latest of a series of significant contributions that the Comic-Con Museum is attracting from those who see the development of the museum as a much-needed participatory and experiential space that connects people to comics and popular art forms.
The museum, which is designed to activate the celebratory spirit of the Comic-Con experience all year round, has surpassed the half-way mark of its $34 million funding goal. Funding levels of all ranges, including incorporation as part of the Donor Wall, are available to support its 2021 opening date. Learn more about donation opportunities.
