Has Amgen solved its conundrum?
For the past decade, the world’s biggest biotechnology company has faced what I have come to call the Amgen conundrum. The company’s revenue and profits keep rising, along with new ways of delivering its core drugs Epogen and Aranesp. But big one ingredient has been missing — a rising share price. After a spectacular rise Read More →
Omaha, land of Buffett and jobs aplenty
Imagine a state where the unemployment rate is 5 percent. Where large corporations are not contemplating moving out because of high taxes. Where housing prices are affordable and stable. Where public universities promote their famous graduates at tourist destinations. Such a state doesn’t need to be imagined. It actually exists. The full version of this Read More →
Ten years down the road, Palms center in Oxnard turning around
The very first issue of the Business Times 10 years ago took a hard look at the ailing Oxnard Factory Outlet along Highway 101. At the time, the shopping center looked like a ghost town. It was losing the fight against the newly opened Camarillo Premium Outlets and had struggled for years with declining profits, Read More →
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 →
Atascadero might not be big enough for both theater projects
A theater showdown may soon be coming to a small city near you. Atascadero has two development teams battling to fill the void in the currently theater-less city, but the City Council is concerned that two movie theatres may be one too many for its little town. On May 11, the City Council voted 5-0 Read More →
Recession taking its toll as builders file for bankruptcy
Well-known Santa Barbara contractor David Lack has filed for both business and personal bankruptcy, listing a total of $2.6 million in debts for his firm and $3.1 million for himself. But Lack’s is just one in a flurry of filings that have rushed through the region’s bankruptcy court in recent months — many smaller construction Read More →
Greening the coast, world at UCSB
If it’s spring it must be summit season at UC Santa Barbara. Two recent events put on by UCSB underscore how important a player the campus has become in the convergence of energy and the environment now being called “sustainability.” Both the Corporate Partners Summit at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management and Read More →
