Calavo shows Wall St. how to make money
While a host of tri-county companies turned in dismal first quarter results, one Ventura County firm had its best ever. Calavo Growers, the Santa Paula-based avocado and produce giant, reported the highest quarterly profit in the company’s 85-year history. Though the first fiscal quarter is usually Calavo’s smallest, recent diversification in both products and geography Read More →
Safety at port gets pricey
This is definitely not a drill. Beginning next month, workers, vendors and other regular visitors to the Port of Hueneme will be barred unless they produce a new security card mandated by the Department of Homeland Security. The Transportation Workers Identification Credential, or the TWIC card, is being required of all persons on the Port Read More →
RIP: IPO market
The initial public offering — a vital part of the technology company life cycle — has become a casualty of the recession. “The IPO market is just dead right now,” said Tom Hopkins, a partner with Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton’s Santa Barbara office who has been heavily involved with technology companies. “The typical exits Read More →
Go forth and be creative – Oxnard firm diversifies client list to keep business strong
Since 1992, Trans FX has kept an edge. Formed from a core of automotive designers, the company used then-new design software in the 1990s to craft Batman’s car in a blockbuster motion picture and concept vehicles for General Motors. But with major changes in the movie and car business, the firm has shifted to provide Read More →
Willing to risk it? Small businesses take leap of faith in uncertain times
Risk has always been a big part of the equation in small business — and it weighs on the minds of entrepreneurs in today’s economic environment. Eric Sanabia of Signature Woodworks in Goleta took a big risk when he started his business three years ago, and now he is contemplating another sizable one. David R. Read More →
Ventura broker says housing plan will loosen up credit market
Millions of homeowners facing foreclosure, first-time buyers and homebuyers who have been unable to secure loans will be among the primary beneficiaries of President Barack Obama’s $75 billion housing rescue plan, according to the head of Ventura County’s largest residential brokerage company. Brian Troop, president of Troop Real Estate, also said the recently unveiled Housing Read More →
Affordable housing fees at center of controversial appeals decision
A new decision from the California’s fifth district Court of Appeals might have a big effect on the fees that some California cities impose on developers to help fund affordable housing. Or it might not. City attorneys in the Tri-Counties are waiting to see what kind of scope the decision gains. The initial dispute arose Read More →
