Pacific Capital loses $40.7M in third quarter
Santa Barbara-based Pacific Capital Bancorp turned in a $40.7 million loss in the third quarter driven by another round of setting aside cash to deal with soured real estate loans. At 87 cents per share, the loss was slightly larger than the 80-cent loss expected by three analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial Network. The results Read More →
Nasdaq may boot area bank
The parent of Solvang-based Los Padres Bank, the third-largest banking firm in the Tri-Counties with 13 branches, faces potential removal from the Nasdaq exchange if the firm doesn’t boost its stock price. Harrington West Financial Group, a $1.1 billion-asset firm and the holding company for Los Padres, said in a release Nov. 2 that Nasdaq Read More →
States sue Amgen, alleging drug kickback scheme
Thousand Oaks-based Amgen faces a lawsuit from New York, California and 13 other states alleging that the company took illegal kickbacks for Aranesp, one of the biotech firm’s top-selling kidney drugs. The case, filed Oct. 29 in federal court and being led by New York, accuses Amgen, a purchasing group and a wholesale provider of Read More →
Dole shares fall after IPO
Produce giant Dole Food Co.’s initial public offering has borne less fruit than the company hoped. The Westlake Village firm’s shares fell Oct. 23 after hitting the market at a lower-than-expected price, a possible sign that investors feel billionaire majority owner David Murdock overreached in tapping the public markets to pay off some of his Read More →
Navy Secretary unveils plans for Green Fleet
[Editor’s note: Correction appended below.] Calling for a “Green Fleet,” U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus outlined an ambitious goal to use non-fossil fuels to produce half of the energy for the U.S. Navy’s sea and shore vehicles at an Oct. 22 event in Santa Barbara. In a speech hosted by the Santa Barbara Read More →
UCSB skilled trade union agrees to furlough days
A union representing skilled-trade workers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has agreed to share the pain of state budget cuts at the school. Over the next year, about 85 electricians, mechanics, plumbers, locksmiths and other trade workers at UCSB will take the same furlough days as non-union university employees, the school said in Read More →
Breaking news: Amgen drug approval withheld
Amgen suffered a setback Oct. 19 as federal regulators withheld approval of a new drug that investors hope will be the Thousand Oaks company’s next blockbuster. The Food and Drug Administration held up approval for denosumab, a treatment for bone loss in older women. Federal regulators want more information on how Amgen will monitor the Read More →
