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In recent years, the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, which combined handle about 40% of all containerized freight for the nation, have faced rising competition. A widening of the Panama Canal will allow larger ships from Asia to bypass the West Coast and deliver more goods straight to the East Coast. In preparation, a number of ports on that side of the country are undergoing major expansions. The Jacksonville, Fla., port authority, for example, said recently that its Asian container shipments grew 20% this fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.

Like British Prime Minister David Cameron, Larry Summers sees warning lights flashing on the world’s economic dashboard. Summers, who served through 2010 as President Obama’s top economic adviser and was Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton, said America should be acting now to shore up its economy, instead of celebrating its status as the healthiest patient in the global economic sick ward.

For large businesses operating in multiple states, Proposition 65 is a regulatory headache. But for local, family-owned businesses like mine, the law can mean bankruptcy. Ultimately, a well-intentioned public health initiative has been perverted into a trial lawyer’s dream and an entrepreneur’s worst nightmare.

The biennial survey, conducted by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, found that California’s workers’ compensation costs, $3.48 per $100 of payroll on average, are 188 percent of the national median among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Living costs in California are already much higher than those of other states, which is not only a factor in attracting job-creating investment but is the main reason California has, under an alternative Census Bureau measurement, the nation’s highest poverty rate.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 4.6 percent in the second quarter of 2014, after decreasing 2.1 percent in the first quarter. Both private goods- and services-producing industries contributed to the increase, while the government sector decreased. Durable‐goods manufacturing; finance and insurance; and retail trade were the leading contributors.

Full-time, permanent employment is getting closer to pre-recession levels, but part-time workers are still struggling to find full-time jobs, according to a new survey from CareerBuilder.

The study found 32 percent of part-time workers say they want to work full time but haven’t been able to land a full-time job.

Of those, 31 percent say they are the sole breadwinner in their household, and 39 percent say they struggle to make ends meet financially. One in four part-time workers who want full-time jobs said they currently work two or more jobs.

Although the state’s political stage is still filled with bickering over whether the California comeback is real, another economic snapshot has reinforced some optimism: California has advanced two slots to No. 37 on the Forbes ” Best States for Business and Careers” list.

Shipping snafus on the West Coast caused by problems at two major ports are starting to take a bite out of retail.

U.S. payrolls grew modestly in October but the unemployment rate fell and wages edged up, signs the labor market is strengthening.

Nonfarm payrolls grew a seasonally adjusted 214,000 last month, the Labor Department said Friday. Since the start of the year, employers have added more than 220,000 workers on average each month, a pace last consistently maintained nearly a decade ago.

The unemployment rate, obtained from a separate survey of households, fell to 5.8% last month. That’s the lowest level since 2008

Most published research focuses on tax incentives at the state level, where the largest packages are typically awarded. A new nationwide survey by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), though, provides a detailed portrait of how local governments use business incentives and employ accountability measures.

If the dollars flow in the intended areas, the newly approved water bond and rainy-day fund both have the power to improve California’s economy, local business leaders said Wednesday.

Corporate executives who haven’t considered investing in California for a long time suddenly have new reasons to do so.

. . . total September exports of $195.6 billion and imports of $238.6 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $43.0 billion, up from $40.0 billion in August, revised. September exports were $3.0 billion less than August exports of $198.6 billion. September imports were $0.1 billion more than August imports of $238.6 billion.

Building on the state’s efforts to streamline the permitting process and make it easier to business in the state, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) today launched a new web page to highlight the best practices of business groups and state and local permitting agencies that are making their programs more user friendly for businesses.