Across the U.S., small-business lending has been stuck in a slow, grinding recovery behind most other types of business and consumer loans. At the end of the first quarter, banks held $585 billion in loans to small businesses, up 1% from last September but still 18% less than the peak of $711 billion in 2008, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
California is one of the most expensive states for businesses to operate, mainly because of high pay and related labor costs, says a new report commissioned by an arm of the state Chamber of Commerce..
Many cities and states are in the same rusty boat, having put off investing in bridges, wastewater systems, dams and other public works that need regular maintenance and upgrades. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates the country would have to spend $3.6 trillion to get the nation’s infrastructure in decent working order by 2020.
After a puzzling first-quarter contraction, growth has returned, though the recovery remains the weakest since the second world war. As of June, the expansion is now five years old, longer than the post-war average of 58 months . . .
PG&E residential customers can expect a 5.8 percent increase in their gas and electricity bills starting in September after approval by state regulators Thursday of the utility’s request for rate hikes.
California added more than 27,000 jobs in July, but the state unemployment rate remained flat at 7.4% as the size of the labor force shrank slightly from last month’s estimates..
The association said California car and light truck sales improved 7.3 percent in the first six months of 2014. That compared with a 5.4 percent increase nationwide.
Nowhere is that trend more pronounced than in Silicon Valley where the economic divide is widening between highly educated and skilled high-tech workers and low-paid workers who are trying to piece together a living in one of the country’s most expensive places.
Developing more startup companies based on UC Davis inventions has been a goal of Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi since she took over at Davis in 2009.
California has experienced rapid population growth for most of its history, but that trend has come to an end. California’s population grew by 2.9 percent over the last three years, only slightly above the nation’s 2.4 percent increase. Over the last few decades, millions of Californians have left the Golden State for opportunities elsewhere.
The U.S. economy earlier this year recovered all the jobs lost during the recession, but those new jobs pay an average of 23% less than the ones lost in the downturn, according to an analysis released Monday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Southern California home sales plunged in July and show little signs of rebounding. And that, economists say, could stunt the region’s economic growth..
A spokeswoman declined to disclose how many layoffs would occur in Silicon Valley. Cisco, which is San Jose’s biggest employer, has been steadily selling off office buildings and land holdings over the last couple of years as it has shrunk headcount.
The state would exempt Tesla Motors Inc. from some of its toughest environmental regulations as part of an incentive package being discussed with the automaker to build a massive battery factory in California, a key state senator said..
The study (PDF), prepared by the economic consulting company IHS Global Insight (IHS), also compares which metro areas have the most households in the top, bottom, and middle thirds of the country’s income distribution. The areas with the fewest middle-income households are mostly coastal: Out of the 357 metro areas, San Jose has the lowest percentage of households making more than $35,000 and less than $75,000, followed by the areas around Bridgeport, Conn.; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco and Oakland; Boston; and New York. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro areas have the highest percentage of households making more than $75,000 and the lowest percentage making less than $35,000.