The spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and kicking
One of the reasons why Americans seem to be discontented with the economy is that many of our largest companies seem to have lost the ability to do what Intel and others did so effectively for decades – leapfrog the competition through superior strategy. It’s certainly depressing to see that the hybrid automotive technology, which Read More →
GRT gets the most out of natural gas
Santa Barbara-based Gas Reaction Technologies, or GRT, doesn’t do alchemy, but it comes pretty close. The company, founded in 1999, has invented a process that turns natural gas that otherwise would be wasted into gasoline and other useful products. The initial advances were discovered at GRT and the University of California, Santa Barbara. On July Read More →
Bio-tech turnaround pays dividend for area economy
During the past year, Ventura County, the Conejo Valley and the economic health of the entire region has been closely tied to the fate of two troubled companies – Countrywide Financial Corp. and Amgen. After 12 months of financial torture, the future of these two companies suddenly is getting a lot clearer. After a near Read More →
South Coast welcomes new brokerage, old names
Two of the biggest players in the South Coast commercial real estate industry have switched teams. Stephen Leider and Clarice Cornell Clarke, now shareholders of Lee & Associates commercial real estate, will launch a Santa Barbara office for the national real estate brokerage on Aug. 1. Leider was a founding partner of Leider Hayes Commercial Read More →
Spirit award winners make key social contributions
When Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank spoke in Santa Barbara earlier this spring, I must confess I was puzzled about his message. He talked about turning traditional banking upside down and creating a new form of business, a so-called “social business” that did not exist just to make a profit. But the Read More →
Schwarzenegger buys time while California builders raise dough
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation July 15 extending the expiration for subdivision maps, giving developers a chance to wait for the housing slump to pick up before embarking on major projects. The struggling residential market, the governor’s office reported, is making it tough for builders to secure financing. In an effort to save developers from Read More →
Banks playing it safe in real estate lending
Steer clear of speculation. That’s the name of the game for banks involved with commercial real estate lending in today’s market Kenneth Jacobsen, vice president and the newly appointed Santa Barbara and Ventura county market manager for Rabobank, N.A., said his company is “being selective and cautious” about the deals it is making right now, Read More →
