Former Energy Secretary calls for manufacturing renaissance
In his first speech since stepping down as U.S. Secretary of Energy in late April, Steven Chu said American needs to actually produce the things it invents or risk losing competitiveness on the global stage. Speaking at the 2013 Summit on Energy Efficiency in Santa Barbara, he pressed scientists from UC Santa Barbara and elsewhere Read More →
PennyMac prices IPO at $17 to $19
Moorpark-based PennyMac Financial Services has priced its initial public offering of stock at $17 to $19 per share, indicating plans to raise as much as $211.1 million in its launch on the New York Stock Exchange. PennyMac, headed by former Countrywide Financial Corp. President Stanford Kurland, employs more than 600 people in Moorpark and more Read More →
K-Swiss sale to Korean firm closes
E.Land World Limited of Korea closed its $170 million buyout of Westlake Village-based athletic shoe company K-Swiss on April 30, after shareholders of the footwear company overwhelmingly approved the merger. Under the terms of the sale, K-Swiss shareholders will receive $4.75 per share in cash, marking the high point of the company’s 52-week stock price Read More →
Local Market Launch raises $1.5M
Santa Barbara-based Local Market Launch, a firm that helps small businesses create and maintain an online presence, has raised $1.5 million in venture capital, bringing its total raised to date to $2.7 million. The company was founded last year by Brian Coryat, the founder of digital advertising firm ValueClick. The funding came from Santa Barbara-based Read More →
Deckers shares plummet as Q1 earnings drop 87%
Shares of Goleta-based Deckers Outdoor Corp. plunged 8.6 percent on Friday as the Ugg boot parent reported first-quarter earnings were a fraction of what they had been a year earlier. Deckers said first-quarter profits were $1 million, or 3 cents per share, compared to $8 million, or 20 cents per share, a year earlier. The Read More →
Heritage Oaks’ Q1 profits jump as bank prepares to pay off TARP
Heritage Oaks Bancorp reported a $3.7 million first-quarter profit, up 131 percent over a year earlier, and said it is gearing up to repay $25 million in bailout funds it took at the height of the recession. The repayment comes with the announcement that two sets of banking regulators have lifted an order over the Read More →
Marian becomes Level III Trauma Center
Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria has officially become a Level III Trauma Center, enabling the hospital to take in seriously injured and emergency patients. The county of Santa Barbara’s Emergency Medical Services Agency designated Marian as a trauma center on April 26, a month after a team of surveyors conducted an on-site evaluation Read More →
