Member of the Month Archive

California Job Recovery Picks Up Steam, Accounting For Over One-Third Of All Jobs Added In U.S.

Friday, March 26, 2021

California’s labor market recovery picked up steam in February, with total nonfarm employment in the state expanding by 141,000 positions over the month, according to an analysis released jointly by Beacon Economics and the UCR School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development. 37% CA Share Of All Jobs Added In U.S. While the late 2020 surge in COVID-19 cases and the associated health-mandated business restrictions took a toll on the state’s labor market in December and January, the February figures represent the highest monthly job gains for the state since June of last year. In contrast to its earlier trend, California helped t...

Many American Households Use Stimulus Payments to Pay Down Debt

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Americans are poised to receive a third round of stimulus checks through the new American Rescue Plan Act and data from the Census Bureau’s experimental Household Pulse Survey show past stimulus payments helped ease financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first round of COVID stimulus payments of up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child began reaching households in April and May 2020. According to the survey, around a quarter of adults in those households were still using those payments to pay for usual expenses as of the first half of June 2020. But Household Pulse data also suggest many households may have accumulated deb...

CA Has 11th Lowest Tax Rate In The Country

Friday, March 12, 2021

(Patch) If you feel as though you have been working harder than you have ever been, but your paychecks are somehow lighter, it's not your imagination or some coronavirus-fueled fever dream. WalletHub released its annual Taxpayer Survey, a snapshot of each state's taxation obligations. The Golden State ranked 11th, just behind Tennesee, in the category of Overall State & Local Tax Rate. WalletHub comes up with the scores by factoring in a variety of tax obligations, none of which were anything California could really shout about: Tax Rates in California (1=Lowest; 25=Average): 11th – Overall Effective State & Local Tax Rate 13th – Income Tax 16th – Real-Estat...

California Economic Recovery Forecast to Outpace the US

Thursday, March 11, 2021

(Los Angeles Times) The U.S. and California economies will experience near-record growth this year thanks to widespread vaccinations for COVID-19 and massive federal relief for struggling workers and businesses, UCLA forecasters predict. “A waning pandemic combined with fiscal relief means a strong year of growth in 2021 — one of the strongest years of growth in the last 60 years — followed by sustained higher growth rates in 2022 and 2023,” according to the quarterly economic outlook released March 10. California, buoyed by high-earning technology and professional sectors that shifted to at-home work during the pandemic, will recover somewhat faster than the U.S., even thoug...

Big News in Irvine Retail

Friday, March 05, 2021

By Bryan Starr President & CEO Greater Irvine Chamber (Irvine Standard: March 3, 2021) Spring weather is calling us back outside to enjoy Irvine’s open-air shopping and dining. Irvine Standard asked Greater Irvine Chamber President & CEO Bryan Starr for his insights and forecasts on retail in 2021. What’s new and exciting with retail in Irvine right now? I spoke to the retail experts at Irvine Company about the past year and what to look for in 2021. There’s a lot of news to share. Two new H Marts are coming to Irvine – one in Northpark Plaza, the other at Westpark Plaza. Newfound Market at Spectrum Cente...

Irvine TV Maker Vizio Tries Again for IPO

Tuesday, March 02, 2021

(Los Angeles Times) Smart-TV maker Vizio Holding Corp., backed by affiliates of Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group, has filed again to go public, this time with a growing entertainment platform. Vizio in its filing Monday listed the size of the offering as $100 million, a placeholder that will change. The number and proposed price for the shares to be offered by the company and selling stockholders will be disclosed in a filing later. Vizio filed to go public in 2015 but withdrew that plan the following year after reaching an agreement to sell the company for $2 billion. Vizio terminated that deal with an affiliate o...

California Still a Top Exporting State

Monday, March 01, 2021

(CalChamber) Trade statistics released this month by the U.S. Department of Commerce show that California remained a top exporting state in 2020. California exported $156.112 billion worth of goods to the world in 2020. As usual, computer and electronic products made up the bulk of exports at 24.1% ($37.56 billion), down from $40 billion in 2019. Transportation equipment and nonelectrical machinery made up 11.1% and 10.8% of total exports, respectively. Trade Overview In 2020, the United States exported a total of $1.431 trillion in goods to the world and imported $2.336 trillion, creating a goods deficit of $905.17 billion. U.S. exports decreased by 12.88...

Port Activity Surges as Pandemic Drives E-Commerce Imports

Sunday, February 07, 2021

(The Grunion) When 2020 dawned, the major concern at the Port of Long Beach centered around a burgeoning trade war with China. But then the global coronavirus pandemic quickly changed that, posing challenges the port had never before faced. The fallout from the pandemic was the focus of Executive Director Mario Cordero’s annual State of the Port address on Feb. 4, during which he touched on how the port marshaled resources to keep operations going, chronicled the year’s wildly inconsistent cargo numbers — which flatlined in the first half of 2020 and then boomed to record levels ahead of the holidays — an...

Why US Hiring Could Rebound Faster Than You Might Expect

Saturday, February 06, 2021

(Associated Press) Hiring has weakened for six straight months. Nearly 10 million jobs remain lost since the coronavirus struck. And this week, the Congressional Budget Office forecast that employment won’t regain its pre-pandemic level until 2024. And yet a hopeful view is gaining steam that as vaccinations reach a critical mass, perhaps around midyear, and the government provides further stimulus, the economy and the job market will strengthen much faster than they did after previous recessions. “I am not often optimistic,” said Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute. “But I am optimistic now.” The brighter outlook rests on three premises. The first is tha...

California's Export Trade Rebounds In Latest Numbers Despite COVID's Ongoing Economic Fallout

Friday, February 05, 2021

(Beacon Economics) Despite the economic drag from recurring outbreaks of both old and new strains of the coronavirus, and from ongoing trade disputes inherited by the new Biden administration, California’s export trade in December nearly matched levels in December 2019, according to Beacon Economics’ analysis of the latest U.S. trade statistics released on Feb. 5 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Businesses in the state shipped a total of $14.019 billion in merchandise abroad in December, a nominal decline of less than one-tenth of 1% from the $14.033 billion in exports the state recorded in December 2019. By comparison, the value of al...

In Case You Missed It: Greater Irvine Chamber Business Outlook Presentation and Slides Available Online

Friday, January 29, 2021

Whether you missed the Jan. 28 live-streamed presentation of the 2021 Greater Irvine Chamber Business Outlook event, would like to revisit it, or share it with others, the complete presentation, program booklet, and Chris Schwarz’s slide deck can be accessed here: Business Outlook 2021.

State Expects to Receive Surplus Revenue, But Sees Deficits on the Horizon

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

(CalChamber) Despite enjoying a record $34 billion budget surplus and prudent reserves from burgeoning but one-time tax revenues, California budget officials expect to see fiscal deficits in the next three years, state Finance Director Keely Martin Bosler told business leaders during a Jan. 12 California Chamber of Commerce webinar. These projections mean that it is critical to maintain funding reserves if the state wishes to preserve existing programs, and it means that the Legislature should not create new funding obligations, she explained. “We can’t afford additional ongoing spending at all,” Bosler cautioned. In fact, California’s strong financial foundation during this pandemic comes from years o...

Irvine: Focused on Economic Recovery

Friday, January 08, 2021

By Bryan Starr, President and CEO, Greater Irvine Chamber As published in the Dec. 21, 2020 issue of Orange County Business Journal To say this year has been a challenging time for the economy is an understatement. During the Greater Irvine Chamber’s Economic Forecast event last January, University of California, Irvine’s expert economist Chris Schwarz warned of “black swans” as potential disruptors for the perfectly healthy economy we enjoyed in what seems like a world away today. As it turned out, a magnitude of black swans swooped in on the coattails of COVID-19. The economy went from bustling in February to bust i...

California's Export Trade Drops In Latest Numbers But Still Beats The Competition

Thursday, January 07, 2021

(Bacon Economics) California’s export trade continued to be buffeted by resurgent waves of COVID-19 both here and abroad, by ongoing trade disputes, by a weaker dollar, and by a reported shortage of shipping containers available to exporters, according to a Beacon Economics’ analysis of the latest U.S. trade statistics released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. In a month that saw the value of all U.S. merchandise exports drop by 7.5% from one year earlier, California exporters did better. Businesses in the state shipped a total of $14.238 billion in merchandise abroad in November, a nominal 3.5% decline from the $14.757 billio...

Governor Newsom Plans $4 Billion for Economic Recovery

Wednesday, January 06, 2021

(NBCLA) California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Jan. 5 proposed a $4 billion spending plan he says will create jobs and help small businesses recover from the economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Close to half of that money — $1.5 billion — would help people purchase electric cars and build the charging stations necessary for drivers to use them. That proposal is part of Newsom's goal to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars in California by 2035. Small businesses would get $575 million. The money would pay for grants of up to $25,000 each to small business owners, with priorit...

Legislative Lifeline for Small Business Deemed Urgent

Wednesday, January 06, 2021

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach), Senator Andreas Borgeas (R-Fresno), and Senator Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) unveiled new coalition support and legislative details of the Keep California Working Act during a Jan. 6 virtual press conference. The Keep California Working Act, otherwise known as Senate Bill 74, is a bipartisan small business relief package spearheaded by Senators Andreas Borgeas and Anna Caballero, and Assembly Member Cottie Petrie-Norris. The bill invests $2.6 billion (or 10% of California's projected windfall) in grants for small businesses and nonprofits impacted by COVID-19. "SB 74 may be an essential lifeline for California businesses that are struggling to maintain jobs an...

Sonesta Hospitality Portfolio Grows with Two New Irvine Hotels

Tuesday, January 05, 2021

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation has introduced two of its newest properties in the U.S. in Irvine: Sonesta Irvine - Orange County Airport (formerly the Wyndham Irvine–Orange County Airport) located at 17941 Von Karman Ave., and Sonesta Simply Suites Orange County–Spectrum Center (formerly Candlewood Suites) at 16150 Sand Canyon Ave. With the addition of these Irvine hotels, Sonesta’s national footprint expands in a key tourism and business region. Sonesta Irvine is the company’s third full-service hotel in the California. Minutes away from Orange County’s John Wayne Airport, Sonesta Irvine boasts 335 rooms and suites and 11 venues totaling 7,500 square feet of flexible meetin...

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