Latest
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, January 4th, 2010 / Uncategorized / Comments Off on Agriculture adds sustainability to forecast
In 2010, the tri-county agriculture industry will deal with perennial challenges of water, weather and pests. But at farms large and small, sustainability is working its way up the agenda. “The public sentiment seems to be building in favor of locally grown food, sustainably grown food and buying your food from the farmer you know,” Read More →
Read More →
Latest
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, January 4th, 2010 / Uncategorized / Comments Off on Tech outlook looks bright and green
In just a few short years, green businesses in the Tri-Counties have gone from small operations to inking some of the region’s largest investment deals and creating hundreds of jobs. And the industry’s leaders say 2010 is likely to increase the pace. San Luis Obispo-based REC Solar has grown from a handful of employees in Read More →
Read More →
Latest
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, January 4th, 2010 / Columns / Comments Off on Time to bid good riddance to the recession
And then there were four. We’re ringing out what I call the Dismal Decade with no fewer than four economic forecasts for the region and very little agreement among the principals involved. Sung Won Sohn of California State University, Channel Islands, is probably the most optimistic, having said in early December that he expects a Read More →
Read More →
Latest
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, January 4th, 2010 / Columns / Comments Off on Forecast: Don
If you’re in real estate, you probably don’t want to reflect too much on 2009. That’s understandable. Rising vacancies and declining sales volumes, paired with foreclosures and disappearing financing, dealt a devastating blow to the real estate sector over the past year — one that might knock the industry off its feet until late 2010. Read More →
Read More →
Latest
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, January 4th, 2010 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Banks remain under tight watch in 2010
The tri-county banking industry enters 2010 with two fewer banks than the year before and at least three banks working under federal orders or agreements to raise cash. A few community bankers see brighter days ahead, but regulators remain tough and the story remains unchanged from 2009: Capital is king. Santa Barbara-based Pacific Capital Bancorp Read More →
Read More →
Latest
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, January 4th, 2010 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Only up from here
It took all of 2009 to do it, but retail is slowly building momentum after coming to a virtual standstill in late 2008. It wasn’t a strong year by any measure, but for retailers that means 2010 can only get better. Despite deflated holiday sales, stores in the Tri-Counties and across the nation reported a Read More →
Read More →
Latest
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, January 4th, 2010 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Start-ups face venture capital drought
In the world of technology start-ups, 2010 may mark the beginning of a new normal, with fewer, saner deals and a tight focus on getting profitable ideas to market without burning through a lot of cash. In 2009, venture capital investment in the Southern California region was down 62 percent to $643 million, according to Read More →
Read More →
