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By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 / Opinion / Comments Off on Editorial: Rise of the Wall Street machines
We’re not the only people who’ve seen eerie similarities between the compacted crash of the stock markets in early May and the Black Monday crash of 1987. A slowly recovering economy, clashing views over currencies and computerized trading were all factors in the October 1987 crash as well as the mini-crash that happened May 7. Read More →
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By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 / Opinion / Comments Off on Editorial: Finally, signs of life in the housing market
The housing market is sending a few positive signals — a welcome development, though not enough to conclude that a sustained recovery is yet at hand. The latest reports from DataQuick show home prices across Southern California are recovering from last year’s depressed levels, as the drop in sales volume has leveled off. Double-digit gains Read More →
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By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 / Features / Comments Off on A good sign: C&D Zodiac thriving in Santa Maria
If you’ve ever flown in a Boeing jet and adjusted the air nozzle above your head or rang for a flight attendant, there’s a good chance you’ve touched a product made by C&D Zodiac in Santa Maria. C&D’s factory in Santa Maria employs 475 and is one of 15 facilities owned by the company, a Read More →
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By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Crowded GOP field in 33rd Assembly District
Four Republican candidates — a county supervisor, a financial analyst, a city councilman and a former planning commissioner — are vying for the party’s nomination in the 33rd State Assembly District. Each touts him or herself as the business candidate. Each promises to work to cut spending in Sacramento. And each continues to support drilling Read More →
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By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Down, but not out: Santa Maria plots its comeback
The Santa Maria Valley economy has suffered blows from many sides: 3,500 construction jobs have evaporated, a motion picture special-effects house with Oscar-nominated work has signaled its intention to leave town and, earlier this month, a UPS call center announced it would lay off 270 workers. But economic forecasters say Santa Maria — with its Read More →
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By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Property management software smackdown hits Santa Barbara
The two biggest players in residential property management software, Santa Barbara-based Yardi Systems and Texas-based RealPage, are locked in an arms race of acquisitions. And both have taken note of the threat posed by Santa Barbara-based AppFolio, an upstart backed by the founder of one of the South Coast’s most successful software firms. Yardi, one Read More →
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By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 / Columns / Comments Off on Another stop on the Green Coast tour
When German solar panel manufacturer SolarWorld took over the former Shell Solar plant in Camarillo in 2006, the early signals were not exactly encouraging. First, SolarWorld planted its North American headquarters flag not in Ventura County but in Hillsboro, Ore., where it acquired an empty computer chip factory and built a solar panel plant that Read More →
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