Breaking news: Weyrich auction postponed
UPDATE: The auctioning off of San Luis Obispo businessman David Weyrich’s properties on York Mountain Road near Templeton and Los Ranchos Road near San Luis Obispo was postponed Friday morning — at the beneficiaries’ request — until Tuesday Nov. 24. • Click here to read the previous story and check the Nov. 27 print issue Read More →
Pacific Capital shares up 35 percent
Shares of Pacific Capital Bancorp soared 35 percent in unusually heavy trading on Nov. 18 as the stock closed at 91 cents. Volume was more than 2 million shares compared with the normal 1.3 million shares daily. No news was announced, but as earlier reported, the region’s largest banking company has been seeking a buyer Read More →
Semtech announces profit, acquisition
Camarillo-based chipmaker Semtech, which makes parts for the BlackBerry and other mobile phones, announced an $11.9 million third-quarter profit Nov. 18 and said it had purchased Irvine-based chipmaker Sierra Monolithics for $180 million in cash. Revenues were down 6 percent from a year ago to $75.1 million, but that figure represented a 13 percent increase Read More →
North Santa Barbara County poised for rebound
The recession likely is ending for North Santa Barbara County, which should be experiencing stable home prices and employment. That is the view of economist Mark Schniepp, who spoke at a Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce economic forecast event Nov. 17. Schniepp said plunging home prices in Santa Barbara County have been fueled by Read More →
Paso Robles winery owner faces foreclosures
UPDATE [1:30pm, Nov. 20]: The auctioning off of San Luis Obispo businessman David Weyrich’s properties on York Mountain Road near Templeton and Los Ranchos Road near San Luis Obispo was postponed Friday morning — at the beneficiaries’ request — until Tuesday Nov. 24. Unless San Luis Obispo County businessman David Weyrich comes up with nearly Read More →
Investors buy Bank of Santa Barbara from Michigan company
It’s official: Bank of Santa Barbara is now run from Santa Barbara and not Michigan. A group of local investors headed by Santa Barbara banking veteran Eloy Ortega announced that it bought the roughly $55-million-asset Bank of Santa Barbara from its Michigan-based parent firm in July. The deal with Capitol Bancorp Limited of Michigan closed Read More →
Ventura County businesses see bright side, could benefit from exports
Ventura County business owners are more optimistic than their tri-county counterparts, economists told a gathering in Camarillo on Nov. 12. Some 31 percent of Ventura County business owners see improvement in the next three months, versus 10 percent of business owners in San Luis Obispo County and just 6.5 percent in Santa Barbara County. That’s Read More →