Daily Business Report: Aug. 28, 2023
Visual Capitalist
How Big is the Market for Crude Oil?
By Govind Bhutada | Graphic Design by Sam Parker
While the global economy relies on many commodities, none come close to the massive scale of the crude oil market.
Besides being the primary energy source for transportation, oil is a key raw material for
numerous other industries like plastics, fertilizers, cosmetics, and medicine. As a result, the global physical oil market is astronomical in size and has a significant economic and geopolitical influence, with a few countries dominating global oil production.
In 2022, the world produced an average of 80.75 million barrels of oil per day (including condensates). That puts annual crude oil production at around 29.5 billion barrels, with the market size exceeding $2 trillion at current prices.
That figure dwarfs the combined size of the 10 largest metal markets:
San Diego County Regional Airport Authority hosts ‘Meet the Primes’
The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority will host a “Meet the Primes” event on Sept. 7, a free annual networking program designed to connect the business community with San Diego International Airport prime contractors and concessionaires, public agencies, banks, businesses and financial support services, and regional partners.
Attendees will learn about construction, concession, and professional service opportunities and regional teaming, partnership, contracting opportunities, and valuable resources through networking at exhibitor booths with prime contractors and Airport Authority departments.
The event is from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Balboa Park Club Ballroom, 2150 Pan American West Road, San Diego.
Registration is now open at SANPrimes23.eventbrite.com; here you can view more details about exhibitors in attendance. For more information on the Airport Authority’s Small Business Development Program, visit san.org/smallbusiness.
Dan Denham appointed general manager of San Diego County Water Authority
The San Diego County Water Authority Board has appointed Dan Denham as general manager, following the retirement of former General Manager Sandra L. Kerl in June.
Denham has served in several leadership capacities with the Water Authority for the past 17 years, including his most recent post as deputy general manager.
In that role, he oversaw the MWD and Colorado River programs, along with the Engineering, Water Resources, and Operations & Maintenance departments.
Denham also continues to oversee the implementation of long-term agricultural-to-urban conserved water transfers that are among the largest in the United States.
As a commissioner on the Quantification Settlement Agreement Joint Powers Authority, he leads the Water Authority’s fulfillment of environmental mitigation obligations and legislative advocacy efforts at the Salton Sea.
SDSU again among ‘Best of the Best’ for LGBTQ students
San Diego State University has been named to The Campus Pride Index’s “Best of the Best” LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities in the country. Thirty colleges and universities across the U.S. made this year’s list. SDSU is the only one in California and one of just two on the West Coast. It’s SDSU’s third straight year on the roster.
An LGBTQ Studies program, LGBTQ living space, a campus resource center and 42 other criteria all get checked off in the five-star rating for 2023. But insiders say there’s at least one additional attribute outside of policy and staff that makes SDSU a welcoming place for any sexual identity or expression — one hard to measure by the numbers. “The students,” said Kay Wong, director of The Pride Center. “They really are part of what makes SDSU the best of the best.”
California bails out distressed hospitals
By Ana B. Ibarra | CalMatters
Seventeen financially distressed California hospitals — including three that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year – will receive close to $300 million in interest-free loans, state officials announced last week. The three are Madera Community Hospital, north of Fresno, Beverly Hospital east of Los Angeles, and Hazel Hawkins Memorial in San Benito County.
TriCity Medical Center in San Diego will receive $33.2 million. The hospital recently announced plans to suspend its labor and delivery services amid “financial losses.”
Madera Community Hospital, which closed its doors in January, stands to receive the biggest chunk, $52 million. The money comes from the Distressed Hospital Loan Program, which the Legislature created to support rural and independent hospitals that faced financial challenges coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The inaugural Del Mar Wine & Food Festival
The inaugural Del Mar Wine & Food Festival will be staged Sept. 6-11 with a lineup that will feature 20 action events, a two-day Grand Tasting event led by culinary greats, and appearances by a host of professional athletes and Hollywood celebrities. Feeding San Diego, the county’s leading hunger-relief and food rescue organization, is the beneficiary of the six-day event.
Events will include an opening nigh party hosted by San Diego Wave FC, a beach cleanupwith Rob Machado, a celebrity pickleball tournament and event hosted by Drew Brees, yoga and brunch with celebrity chef Catherine McCord, an afterparty hosted by Richard Blais at the Pendryn Hotel, and many other attractions.
“San Diego has always been California’s perfect-weather beach getaway. Now it’s getting national headlines for food, drink, sports, and culture,” says festival co-founder Troy Johnson, Food Network TV host and San Diego native. “The region’s food scene is hotter than ever fueled by an abundance of local farms, our proximity to Mexico, and not to mention the most sustainable fishery in the nation in our own oceanfront backyard. There’s a new generation of trailblazing chefs here harnessing that momentum, and the Del Mar Wine & Food Festival is the week-long celebration that brings it all together.”
Click here for a complete rundown of attractions, events, and ticket prices.
Campus at Horton secures firs retail tenants
Stockdale Capital Partners has secured leases with premier retailers Sprout, Shake Shack, Sweetgreen, Salon Republic, and Studio Three Fitness as part of its $505 million revitalization of Horton Plaza. Expected to open in 2024, the Campus at Horton is a mixed-use office campus with 300,000 square feet of retail and 70,000 square feet of lab-ready life sciences space for lease.
Cue Health receives $28 million federal contract for multiplex tests
San Diego-based diagnostics leader Cue Health secured a $28 million federal contract from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. Instrumental in creating the COVID-19 at-home tests, including those for the NBA, Cue Health will use the funds to develop over-the-counter test kits that can simultaneously detect influenza A, influenza B, respiratory syncytial virus, and COVID-19 in 25 minutes.
Rapport Therapeutics raises $150 million in Series B funding
San Diego biotech startup Rapport Therapeutics, which develops precision drugs for brain and nervous system disorders, has raised another $150 million from new and current investors. The Johnson & Johnson-backed firm will use the Serie B funding to advance ongoing clinicap programs in seizure and psychiatric disorders.
Conrad Prebys Foundation awards $300,000 to Cal State San Marcos for mobile health clinic
Cal State San Marcos has received a $300,000 grant from the Conrad Prebys Foundation
to help offer free services to underserved communities through a mobile health clinic.
The largest private foundation in San Diego County provided the grant for CSUSM to team up with health care nonprofit TrueCare to provide free health and wellness services in medically underserved areas of North County.
Aya Healthcare announces scholarship for medical students
Aya Healthcare, in partnership with National Medical Fellowships, Inc. (NMF), has launched the Future Leaders in Medicine Scholarship. The scholarship program aims to support students in medical programs and help them become leaders in health care. Five exceptional students will each receive a $10,000 grant to assist them on their journey towards becoming health care leaders.
Planet Based Foods closes second tranche of private placement
Planet Based Foods Global Inc., a xompany that offers a wide range of hemp-based food alternatives, has closed the second and final tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement of 67 convertible debenture units at a price of $1,000 per unit for gross aggregate proceeds of up to $67,000. In total, the company issued an aggregate of 341 units under both tranches of the private placement for gross proceeds of $341,000.
Wilshire Quinn Capital awards $10,000 musical arts scholarship
Wilshire Quinn Capital, which has a Downtown San Diego office, has awarded a $10,000 Wilshire Quinn Musical Arts Scholarship to Sanjana Dhanasekaran, a 20-year-old pianist. The funds will be applied to her enrollment as a sophomore at Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo. Ms. Dhanasekaran will act as a member of the Missouri Music Teachers Association’s student chapter.
PrecisePK celebrates 30 years of Bayesian precision dosing
PrecisePK is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its partnership with UC San Diego Health. This decades-long initiative has proven the success of using Bayesian precision dosing to improve patient outcomes. With other UC hospitals joining, PrecisePK is delivering state-of-the-art Bayesian therapeutic drug monitoring technology to a total of 9 prominent sites.
PrecisePK was first developed in 1986 as T.D.M.S 2000 by a group of pioneers in pharmacology and computer science.
Bioscept to hold business update conference call Aug. 30
Biocept Inc. management will hold a conference call on August 30, 2023, beginning at 1 p.m. to provide a business update and to answer questions. Participants can pre-register for the conference call here. Callers who pre-register will be given a conference passcode and unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call. Participants may pre-register at any time, including up to and after the call start time. The conference call can be accessed at the time of the live call by dialing (855) 656-0927 for domestic callers.
Sol-ti names Pawan Kalra as president and chief executive officer
Sol-ti Founder Ryne O’Donnell along with the board of directors has appointed former Chief Executive Officer of Pressed Juicery, Pawan Kalra as president and CEO of the company. O’Donnell steps into a new role as “founder, chairman and chief vitality advocate,” nine years after founding the company. Most recently, Kalra was at Pressed Juicery for over six years in various leadership positions including chief financial officer, chief operating officer, and chief executive officer.
Mitek named a leader in Know Your Customer Solution Scorecard
Mitek Systems Inc., a global leader in digital identity and fraud prevention, has been named a leader in Javelin Strategy & Research’s 2023 Know Your Customer Solution Scorecard. “Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols are the foundation of robust identity verification and play a crucial role in safeguarding against identity fraud and financial crimes,” Javelin said in announcing the scorecard results. Javelin’s comprehensive report evaluated and ranked top KYC solution providers catering to the U.S. market, with a focus on financial institutions.
