53.2 F
Laguna Hills
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
-Advertisement-

ADDENDUM – January 21, 2013

A startup carmaker guided by one of the auto industry’s best-known names is combining the body of Anaheim-based Fisker Automotive Inc.’s luxury-hybrid Karma sedan with the gasoline-powered engine of a Chevrolet Corvette. VL Automotive recently displayed its Destino at the Detroit Auto Show. The company is run by former General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, who is credited with driving the development of the Chevy Volt electric vehicle.

The unemployment rate in Orange County fell to 6.8% in December, its lowest level in three years. That’s down from 7% the prior month and 7.8% a year earlier. OC now has 1,405,900 jobs, according to the agency. December’s decline in the number of jobs was driven by losses in the professional and business services sector, and partially offset by gains in health services, which added 2,000 jobs last month.

Brandman University in Irvine ranked No. 8 on a list of best online undergraduate programs nationwide by U.S. News & World Report. Brandman, which operates as part of the Chapman University System based in Orange, was the lone Orange County school among 100 on the list.

Orange County-based companies got $497.2 million in venture capital last year, a steep drop from a year-earlier total of more than $1.26 billion, according to data from Dow Jones Venture Source. Last year’s investments came in 41 deals, down from 54 in 2011. Nearly half of the deals—18—were made in the healthcare industry, including 14 involving medical-device makers. The downturn in venture capital investments in OC was in line with the nationwide trend, which saw venture-backed companies raise $29.72 billion last year compared with $35.11 billion across 3,506 deals in 2011.

Irvine-based Sunwest Bank acquired the assets and deposits of Westside Community Bank, a University Place, Wash.-based bank that was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. earlier this month. Westside Community’s two branches have been folded into the Sunwest brand.

Newport Beach-based private wealth management firm United Capital Financial Advisers LLC has acquired a majority stake in Seattle-based Paragon Investment Management Inc. United Capital has about $8 billion in assets under management, and could add about $1 billion more with Paragon.

Schwalbach, Germany-based Bit Analytical Instruments increased its stake in Source Scientific LLC in Irvine to 100% on undisclosed terms. Bit Analytical had already owned half of the Irvine-based maker of diagnostic and analytical instruments.

Rancho Santa Margarita-based tooling equipment maker ATS Systems Inc. received a $5.5 million loan from Chicago-based Cole Taylor Bank. The money will be used to refinance ATS’ existing debt and pursue growth, according to a statement by Cole Taylor. ATS makes and distributes cutting machines, automation accessories and others products such as air chucks and cylinders. It has about 30 employees here.

Aliso Viejo-based online retailer Buy.com will be renamed Rakuten.com Shopping. The new name comes as Tokyo-based parent Rakuten Inc., which paid a reported $250 million for Buy.com in 2010, moves to make its moniker the brand of various operations it has acquired around the world in recent years.

Cypress-based Mexican restaurant chain operator Real Mex Restaurants Inc. named Charles Robinson president and chief executive to replace Christopher Thomas, who had been serving on an interim basis since the departure of David Goronkin last May. Robinson arrives from Warner Hospitality, where he helped develop and turn around restaurants in casinos, such as the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. He will have a seat on the board of Real Mex, which owns and operates 125 restaurants under the El Torito Restaurants brand and others.

Enercon Services Inc., an energy consulting firm in Kennesaw, Ga., opened an office in San Clemente to work with Southern California Edison Co. on its San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, just south of the Orange County line. Enercon had about $200 million in engineering revenue last year, and ranked No. 60 last year among biggest design firms in the U.S., according to trade publication Engineering News-Record. Rosemead-based Edison’s San Onofre plant has been offline since early 2012, when two reactors were shut down over a radioactive steam leak.

ECONOMIC INDICATOR

UP: Apartment rents in Orange County, where the average monthly rate at large complexes rose 4.9%, or $76, to $1,673 over the past year, according to San Francisco-based industry tracker RealFacts. The latest gain continued a streak that started in early 2011.

Want more from the best local business newspaper in the country?

Sign-up for our FREE Daily eNews update to get the latest Orange County news delivered right to your inbox!

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-