Business Western United States

A Newport Beach-based management consulting firm found in a recent survey that business owners and managers in the western United States are very optimistic about the coming year. Of the 217 chief executives, presidents and managers queried in the fourth quarter, 92% felt their businesses would perform better over the next 12 months, according to Management Action Programs Inc.

After an aggressive East Coast expansion, Trader Joe's Co.--the quirky food retailer that stocks everything from vegetarian black bean chili to French feta cheese--will open as many as 15 new stores in the Western U.S., primarily in California. The South Pasadena-based chain has nearly doubled in size during the last five years and now operates about 120 stores, 80 of them in California.

Toward an outdated goal of developing the West, the federal government is virtually giving away billions of dollars' worth of natural resources to subsidize private business, a congressional report says. The subsidies come in the form of cheap water, underpriced timber and help for private interests ranging from mining companies to ranchers and farmers, according to a study released Sunday by the House Natural Resources Committee.

A Newport Beach-based management consulting firm found in a recent survey that business owners and managers in the western United States are very optimistic about the coming year. Of the 217 chief executives, presidents and managers queried in the fourth quarter, 92% felt their businesses would perform better over the next 12 months, according to Management Action Programs Inc.

After an aggressive East Coast expansion, Trader Joe's Co.--the quirky food retailer that stocks everything from vegetarian black bean chili to French feta cheese--will open as many as 15 new stores in the Western U.S., primarily in California. The South Pasadena-based chain has nearly doubled in size during the last five years and now operates about 120 stores, 80 of them in California.

Robert L. Sharp has been named vice president for Asian business-Western United States at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co. Sharp will transfer to Los Angeles from Tokyo, where he was president of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Bank, a subsidiary of the international banking group.

Toward an outdated goal of developing the West, the federal government is virtually giving away billions of dollars' worth of natural resources to subsidize private business, a congressional report says. The subsidies come in the form of cheap water, underpriced timber and help for private interests ranging from mining companies to ranchers and farmers, according to a study released Sunday by the House Natural Resources Committee.