BLOOMBERG BRIEFING Number of the day Hear here “Guys say, ‘Gee, I think that Pinterest is only for women. I want to go where there are people like me.’ ” John Manoogian III, co-founder of social $2.5 million advertising firm 140 Proof, on male-oriented image-sharing sites like MANteresting, Du- That’s how much the Finnish mo- depins, PunchPin, Gentlemint and Dart- bile-game developer Supercell is itup. Pinterest is the third-largest social Paul Sakuma / Associated Press 2008 generating in sales of virtual goods network after Facebook and Twitter, with every day. The startup rolled out 40 million users — mostly women — and lots Heads up two popular titles last summer, the of imitators. While it focuses on fashion, Electronic Arts reports quarterly earnings on medieval tower-defense game fingernail art and rainbow fruit kabobs, MAN- Tuesday, and analysts expect net income to drop "Clash of Clans" and the crop- teresting leans toward muscle cars, WD-40 31 percent to $275 million from a year earlier. Sales tending "Hay Day." Both free apps and bacon pancakes. Story on page D2. may slip 24 percent to $1.04 billion. The Redwood feature vivid graphics and addictive City company is restructuring to focus on mobile play, attracting a combined 8.5 Supercell games while still developing titles for a new gener- million registered users and putting The free app “Clash of ation of consoles. Last month EA said it was cut- the pair at the top of Apple’s iOS Clans” is at the top of Bloomberg Market Report ting jobs and would shut down three games devel- game charts since December. Apple’s iOS game charts. More on Page D4 oped for Facebook. Business Report The Chronicle with San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | Sunday, May 5, 2013 | Section D Prize money an incentive for building better robot In the days after the Fukushima nuclear di- saster in 2011, the Japanese government sent robots into contaminated reactors and turbines to survey damage, measure radiation and move hazardous debris. Robots also sifted through rubble after the terrorist attacks of JAMES Sept. 11, and disarm- ed or detonated TEMPLE explosives in Af- Dot- ghanistan. Commentary But the promise of such machines to aid in the prevention or aftermath of disas- Photos by Michael Short / Special to The Chronicle ters is still rudimentary. They’re limited by the Blackbird Guitars founder Jon Luttwak checks on an assortment of guitars in varying states of production need to navigate terrain cluttered with wreck- in his shop on Folsom. The shop makes custom carbon fiber guitars at the Mission District location. age, manipulate an unpredictable array of ob- jects and maintain remote connections in ex- S.F. MANUFACTURING treme conditions, among many other challenges. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants to change all that. And it’s putting up the money to make it happen. Shopping local Temple continues on D5 What college grads is going global face in job market By Caleb Garling Students graduating from college in the next few weeks face a more uncertain job market Imagine a Chinese college student shopping than they did just a few months ago. for school supplies in Beijing as she gets ready to When the National Association of Colleges start classes. She comes across some stylish mes- and Employers surveyed employers in the fall, senger bags. Eventually, her decision is made in they expected to favor a bag because it has the logo “SFMade” on KATHLEEN hire 13 percent more the side. students from the That’s the vision for SFMade, a nonprofit PENDER class of 2013 than group dedicated to reinvigorating the manufac- Net Worth the class of 2012. turing industry in San Francisco. A free member- But when it polled ship gives manufacturers not only access to myri- them again in Feb- ad business resources, but a voice in the expen- ruary and March, sive and competitive Bay Area economy. they expected to “It’s terrific we have a trade association that hire only 2.1 percent can give (manufacturers) a louder voice, that Gabe Daniels sands down the edges of a fret more. doesn’t get drowned out by Silicon Valley tech,” board on the body of a Lucky 13 guitar. “The momentum says Keith Greggor, CEO of Anchor Brewing Co. for new college This week, the SFMade label will be front and manufacturers work against skyrocketing rents hires seems to have dwindled in the last few center during SFMade Week. Manufacturers will and ever-rising costs of living. Redevelopment months,” says Edwin Koc, the association’s open their factory doors and give San Francis- and water on three sides constrains the available research director. He guesses the payroll tax cans a chance to check out the production lines space for factories in the first place. increase and federal budget cuts that took effect and latest products. Accordingly, the type of manufacturing that at the start of the year were to blame. Making goods in a big city isn’t easy. Local SFMade continues on D7 Although the April employment report is- Pender continues on D5 AUTOMAKERS A tale of 2 high-tech car companies As Tesla prepares to report its first quarterly profit, Fisker struggles and appears headed for bankruptcy By David R. Baker shared similar dreams. Both Analysts credit differences in wanted to make plug-in cars strategy and timing. There’s Come Wednesday,Tesla that could snare buyers also an element of luck. Fisker, Motors will report its first prof- through sheer sex appeal, after all, lost a shipment of more itable quarter ever, as drivers something the previous wave of than 330 cars to Hurricane snap up the company’s pricey electric vehicles never tried. Sandy last year when the storm and powerful electric cars. Both marketed to the rich, try- plowed into the New Jersey port Meanwhile Tesla’s onetime ing to initially sell small num- facility where the vehicles were rival, Fisker Automotive, is bers of very expensive cars parked. expected to file for bankruptcy before rolling out more afford- More importantly, however, any day now. Based in Ana- able models over time. Both analysts point to differences in heim, Fisker fired most of its received big government loans the cars each company pro- staff last month and hasn’t built to make those dreams real. duced. Fisker Automotive a car this year. So why is Tesla thriving Tesla’s Model S, introduced The Fisker Karma, introduced at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, The two California startups while Fisker fades out? Cars continues on D7 is a hybrid. The company is facing bankruptcy. San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | Sunday, May 5, 2013 | D7 BUSINESS The Chronicle with chased by Consumer Reports died and had to High-tech car be towed away from the track before the official driving test even began. companies see “Our Fisker Karma cost us $107,850. It is su- per sleek, high-tech — different fates and now it’s broken,” the product rating service reported on its blog. “We Cars from page D1 executive officer of the buy about 80 cars a year Edmunds.com auto in- Sarah Rice / Special to The Chronicle 2011 and this is the first time in last summer, has received formation service. “When The distinctive Fisker Karma, above, made a big splash at auto shows. Tesla’s memory that we have had mostly stellar reviews for you think about Fisker Model S, below, the company’s second car, is less showy than its Roadster. a car that is undriveable its performance, comfort and Tesla, the remarkable before it has finished our and quality. Priced from thing is that Tesla is still check-in process.” roughly $70,000 to around.” $95,000, it now outsells From its beginning in Public scrutiny comparable luxury se- 2003, Tesla CEO Elon Tesla’s first car, the dans from such estab- Musk focused on build- Roadster, went through lished brands as Audi and ing pure electric cars. The two recalls as well, one to BMW and has fast be- Palo Alto company’s two Photo caption Dummy text goes here. fix rear bolts improperly come a status symbol cars to date, the Roadster Dummy text goes here. Dummy text installed by Lotus, the among well-heeled Cali- and the Model S, run on goes here. Dummy text goes here. other to better protect a fornians. nothing but batteries. cable for the car’s back-up Fisker took a different power system. But Tesla Glitches and bugs approach, choosing to Mike Kepka / The Chronicle 2012 had the good fortune to The $100,000 Fisker make advanced hybrids recall those cars in 2009 Karma, in contrast, devel- instead. For the first 32 At the same time, both A123 Systems filed for and 2010, before govern- oped a reputation for miles of a trip, the Karma Tesla and Fisker planned bankruptcy in 2012, Fisk- ment loans to green-tech glitches and bugs. Re- operates as an electric car. to move production in- er was stuck. The compa- companies had become viewers complained Then it switches on a house for their second car ny hasn’t built a car since. the focus of intense public about its cramped interi- gasoline-powered engine. models, opening factories “They had a very dif- scrutiny. Fisker wasn’t so or, hefty weight and noisy At one point, the two in the United States. And ferent approach to how lucky. engine. One Karma broke companies were partners. due to the 2008 financial much they were willing to Despite a New York down on Consumer Re- In early 2007,Tesla hired crisis, each was able to Henrik Elon outsource,” said Andrea Times story this year that ports’ test track.