UCSB stem-cell research looks for gains
During the presidential campaign, we heard a lot about hope and change. So much so, in fact, that the words nearly got ground into meaninglessness. That’s politics. But scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara, are optimistic about the prospect of an actual change in federal policy: lifting the Bush administration’s limitations on federal Read More →
Meltdown shows what happens when trust disappears
It’s becoming clearer that the events of September 2008 will go down as some of the worst in Wall Street history. Consider, if you will, recent comments by a couple of people who represent some of the best thinking on this subject. Writing in a note to investors, David Decker, portfolio manager for Janus Contrarian Read More →
Commercial brokers have sober view of sales, vacancies, leases
The tri-county commercial real estate market can expect to see rising vacancies and dwindling sales numbers and asking rates in 2009, according to several recent reports. Radius Group Commercial Real Estate, Hayes Commercial Group and NAI Capital all published market outlooks for the new year indicating that the pendulum is swinging from landlords to tenants. Read More →
How to tell if President Obama is getting the job done
Now that the hoopla has died down and we’ve all gone back to work, it’s time to set some benchmarks for the new administration. Having been through a few of these cycles before, I’m not inclined to accept the “this time it’s different” line from anybody. It’s also been my observation that when really good Read More →
Tri-county real estate market might not rebound until late 2010
Economist Kirk Lesh had no good news for attendees of the UCSB Economic Forecast Project lecture on Jan. 15. In fact, most of the UCSB-EFP findings proved worse than attendees had anticipated. Lesh said during the presentation that the real estate market will be flat until at least the second or third quarter of 2010 Read More →
Lehman Brothers decision will haunt Bush
Consider, if you will, the following sequence of events. On Sept. 15, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy after the Treasury Department decided it was not too big to fail. On Sept. 17, with more than $600 billion in Lehman’s assets now practically worthless, a money market fund called the Reserve Fund faced insolvency as it Read More →
Women rise to lead roles in a male-dominated wine industry
Trivia question: How many of the Tri-Counties’ 25 largest wineries are headed by women winemakers? Answer: Two. Of all wine consumed in the United States, 57 percent is purchased by women, according to Adams Wine Handbook; but a scan of wineries across the Tri-Counties revealed that few women actually hold dominant positions within those wineries. Read More →
