Business Insider Magazine - Los Angeles South Bay » Los Angeles South Bay

East West Bank Acquires Failed Bank’s Assets

Editor and Publisher — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:38:22 +0000

Editor’s Note: East West Bank has several South Bay branches and United Commercial Bank has a Torrance branch serving the South Bay south communities. This acquisition will significantely enhance East West’s position in the local market.

By RICHARD CLOUGH

(Los Angeles Business Journal) East West Bank nearly doubled in size late Friday after acquiring San Francisco’s United Commercial Bank, which was closed by regulators earlier in the evening.

East West Bancorp Inc., a Pasadena holding company for a bank catering to the Chinese-American community, purchased $10.2 billion in United Commercial’s assets, including 63 ... Continue Reading

Parking legally may be illegal in Redondo Beach

Editor and Publisher — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:24:43 +0000

Police let drivers off the hook with a warning for violation they could not have known they committed.

By David Whitehead

This absurd enforcement action by the Redondo Beach Police Department was probably a bureaucratic snafu the chain of command decided to proceed with despite its highly questionable legality. It was clearly an unwarranted violation of the rights of law abiding citizens, but just to keep things in perspective, it wasn’t the Rodney King incident either. For me it was just stupid and annoying.

On Sunday, November ... Continue Reading

P.V. Chamber Evening Mixer – Thurs., Nov. 19, 2009

Editor and Publisher — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:11:16 +0000

Palos Verdes Peninsula Chamber of Commerce

Evening Mixer: Thursday, November 19, 5:30-7:30 p.m.,

Location: Marmalade Café, Promenade on the Peninsula, 550 Deep Valley Drive, Suite 201, Rolling Hills Estates.

Join fellow members and bring a potential member and join us in BUILDING BUSINESS REFERRALS!

Admission $10 for Chamber members; $15 for potential members. Includes one complimentary drink ticket.

Wine and beer bar available. RSVP: debby@palosverdeschamber.com or call 310-377-8111.

Market your business and donate a raffle prize! Notify Debby of your item(s) at 310-377-8111, so that your donation is included in the signage at the event.

California National Bank Seized by Regulators

Editor and Publisher — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:55:06 +0000

Editor’s Note: This Los Angeles-based bank has well-established branches in the South Bay region. Be aware the FDIC will do everything in it’s power to transition struggling financial institutions before taking the radical step of seizing its assets forcing a bailout. This is a grave situation indeed.

By Richard Clough

(The Los Angeles Business Journal) California National Bank, which had struggled with insufficient capital levels for more than a year, was closed late Friday by regulators, marking the fourth bank failure in Los Angeles County this year.

With assets of $7.8 billion, Cal ... Continue Reading

Managing: How to Work More Like a Start-Up

Editor and Publisher — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:46:35 +0000

Rekindle that startup spirit with agile development

By Darren Dahl

(Inc.com) The first thing you notice when you walk into the Chicago offices of Total Attorneys, which provides software and services to small law firms, is the number of people on their feet. Every morning, the company’s 180 employees gather around the office in groups of five to 10. Close your eyes, take in the often raucous banter and laughter, and it’s easy to mistake Total Attorneys’s headquarters for a college cafeteria. But these meetings, which last for about 15 minutes, ... Continue Reading

Building a Culture of Employee Appreciation

Editor and Publisher — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:38:45 +0000

How Datotel overhauled its employee-appreciation, -recognition, and -incentive programs

By Nadine Heintz

(Inc.com) David Brown thinks it’s important to make his employees feel valued. So Brown, founder and president of Datotel, an IT services and data storage business in St. Louis with 38 employees, was dismayed when he realized his employee-of-the-month program wasn’t helping morale. Recipients didn’t seem enthusiastic about the award, which consisted of a $25 gift card, a perfunctory e-mail, and a mention on the company intranet.

It seems like a simple concept: Make employees feel appreciated, and they will ... Continue Reading

New home sales fall 3.6%

Editor and Publisher — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:08:48 +0000

(Associated Press – Los Angeles Times) WASHINGTON – Sales of new homes dropped unexpectedly last month as the effects of a soon-to-expire tax credit for first-time owners started to wane.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales fell 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 402,000 from a downwardly revised 417,000 in August. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a pace of 440,000.

It was the first decline since March. Sales in September were down 7.8 percent from a year ago.

The median sales price of $204,800 was off 9.1 percent from $225,200 a year earlier, but up 2.5 percent ... Continue Reading

SBA loans are on the rebound

Editor and Publisher — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:03:19 +0000

The number made in Southern California from April through September rises 50% from the previous six-month period.

By Cyndia Zwahlen

(Los Angeles Times) After crashing to record lows earlier this year, small-business lending in Southern California may be on the mend, though the number of loans is still down sharply compared with recent years.

Lenders made 2,000 local loans backed by the Small Business Administration from April through September, a 50% increase compared with 1,330 loans made in the first half of the government’s fiscal year.

The amount of money lent also climbed about 50%, to $755 million, in the second half of fiscal ... Continue Reading

7 Simple Ways to Law-Proof Your Business

Editor and Publisher — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:21:32 +0000

By Kurt Andrew Schlichter, Esq.

The article appeared in Business Insider Magazine’s first issue of 2009

While the economic downturn will increase most businesses’ exposure to legal problems, it can also be a good time to get your legal house in order. Companies and individuals in trouble often look to the law as a quick way to avoid debts or to collect on real or imagined claims that in good times would be put aside. But when things are slow, businesspeople have the chance to focus on legal matters they would otherwise ... Continue Reading

My Business is Worth What?

Editor and Publisher — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:47:49 +0000

California Association of Business Brokers says know the value of your business

(Sacramento, CA) The California Association of Business Brokers (CABB- a non profit trade organization) says if you are a small business owner looking to sell your business but are waiting for the economy to turn around, use this time to start preparing. One of the most vital steps in this process is to understand what your business is worth.

Ron Hottes, president of CABB and of several Business Team Business Brokerages says that a business broker’s opinion of value can provide you with an objective view of what your business ... Continue Reading