"Big Six" Major Film Studios

The Los Angeles Film Regional Center will only lend to film studios with the highest corporate credit ratings such as the major U.S. film studios, known as the “Big Six” studios, which include 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Paramount, Universal Studios, Warner Bros., and Disney or major independent studios with strong collateral.

All of the Big Six studios are large publicly-traded diversified media conglomerates. Through their own brand names as well as acquired film companies, these studios produce and distribute approximately 90 percent of the major motion pictures released in the United States and Canada.

Each Big Six studio also consistently commands a significant share of box office revenues in the North American, Western and global markets, with average annual box office sales typically in excess of $3 billion. All Big Six studios are based in or around Hollywood, a subdivision of Los Angeles County, California. Los Angeles Film regional Center loans to a Big Six studio will be secured by a corporate guarantee and any major independent studio will be secured with strong collateral.

Agriculture & Food processing

Agriculture is a major industry for the Golden State. With 88,000 farms and ranches, California agriculture is nearly a $36.6 billion dollar industry that generates $100 billion in related economic activity. This enormous achievement is made possible through a combination of tradition and innovation that has secured California's status as the most productive agricultural state for more than 50 years. Farmers and ranchers blend old-fashioned notions of patience and perseverance with cutting-edge technologies and advanced agricultural practices. The result is a highly adaptable and diverse industry encompassing more than 350 plant and animal commodities.

Although California's agricultural market is primarily the United States, its products are exported to more than 156 countries worldwide. In 2007, 28% of California's agricultural production – valued at $10.9 billion - was shipped overseas, representing an 11% increase from 2006. It is the unparalleled flavor of California's food products that makes California's agriculture a global commodity.

Alternative Energy

California is the eighth largest economy in the world and, to meet the needs of its growing population, California’s economy depends upon affordable, reliable, and environmentally sound supplies of electricity, natural gas, and transportation fuels.

California has been an energy trendsetter for most of the globe, especially in renewable energy development. In 2007, 11.8 percent of all electricity came from renewable resources such as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and small hydroelectric facilities. Large hydroelectric plants accounted for another 11.7 percent of the state’s electricity.

The state is blessed with indigenous renewable resources like wind and geothermal energy. The burgeoning wind energy began in the Golden State in the 1970s, and the state has more geothermal energy production than most other countries, behind only Iceland.

Other renewable resources include biomass, hydropower and geothermal energy. Studies indicate that California has excellent biomass resource potential due to its abundant forests, agricultural and urban wood waste sectors.

California is a world leader in energy efficiency, and its encouragement and development of new energy technologies have made it an “energy laboratory” for the world. The state is also pursuing ambitious goals, policies, and programs on climate change to do its share to reduce greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

Health Services

Health services provide 12.9 million jobs nationally – 12.5 million jobs for wage and salary workers and about 382,000 jobs for the self-employed. Ten out of 20 occupations projected to grow the fastest are concentrated in health services. About 16 percent of all new wage and salary jobs created between 2002 and 2012 will be in health services – 3.5 million jobs, which is more than in any other industry.

As many other industries face substantial losses, an aging population has kept the allied health field robust in California. According to the California Employment Development Department, the health and education sector grew 2.2 percent in a year-over-year comparison, making it the only job category to experience growth from one year ago.

By 2030, more than one million Californians will be 85 years of age or older which is going to increase the need for health care services. The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the Employment Development Department workforce projections include the need to educate over 206,000 additional health care professionals by 2014.

Health services enterprises might include hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and doctors’ offices, medical research and laboratory facilities, medical testing services, home hospice care services, and other enterprises in the growing health care field.

Higher Education

Because California is the most populous state with the largest student population in the United States, there is no doubt that its higher education system should be of extensive focus to the state. In 2008, approximately 2.4 million students were enrolled in just the state’s public institutions. California’s three-tier system, which includes the University of California (UC) system, the California State University (CSU) system, and the California Community Colleges, provides diverse educational opportunities for Californians. The percentage of college graduates in California is larger than the nation’s average; in 2008, 115,548 individuals received a bachelor’s degree. The most popular degree offerings is Business Administration, Management, and Operations; General Psychology; and Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies, and Humanities.

For California, the higher education system is a huge employer and provider of services, providing much revenue for local economies.

Leasehold Improvements

Increasingly, the ability for various industry sectors to operate in major metropolitan zones depends on stable economic development in its central areas. Currently, there is no place in the United States hit harder in the housing market than in California. Not immune to this crisis, California’s commercial real estate market has also suffered blows with decreasing property values and increasing vacant properties.

Despite being hurt by the real estate crisis, Californians will be relieved to hear that the worst may soon be over. The volume of sales is increasing, inventory is shrinking and investors seem to be returning to the market. It is forecasted that home price stabilization will come sometime between 2010-2011.

The outlook on commercial real estate in Los Angeles is brighter than for other areas in California and the nation. Most economists agree the U.S. will be well on its way toward recovery by the end of 2009, with full-fledged expansion ramping up through 2010.

Manufacturing and Trade

Trade and manufacturing have been founding industries in the United States’ history, and continue to be driving industries for the economy. The International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce, furnishes statistics for merchandise export sales by business located in 253 of the nation’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA).

California is home to the largest manufacturing belt in the United States and to Silicon Valley, the nation's largest high-tech center. The latest data available shows that export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 5.3 percent of California's total private-sector employment. Over one-fifth (21.9 percent) of all manufacturing workers in California depend on exports for their jobs. In 2006, a total of 52,428 companies exported goods from California locations. Small and medium-sized firms generated more than two-fifths (44 percent) of California's total exports of merchandise in 2006. This was the sixth highest percentage among the states.

Technology

The past thirty years have seen tremendous developments in the technology industry, with both funds and energies devoted to building high-tech infrastructures and defining resources for diverse high-tech companies, both large and small. A wide range of technology industries such as biotechnology, environmental technology, information technology, advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, and agribusiness have important and far-reaching implications for employment, education, and a number of additional fields.

Tourism

California boasts the largest tourism industry in the United States, with the largest market share of domestic travel among all the states. In 2008, California saw 351 million visitors who collectively spent 97.6 billion dollars. The industry directly supported 924,000 jobs and provided $2.2 billion in local taxes and $3.6 billion in state taxes. Since California Gold Rush that stimulated the growth of San Francisco and the establishment of Los Angeles as the hub of the nation’s entertainment industry, the tourism sector has prospered tremendously. Despite the weakening national economy and rising airfares, California benefited from in-state travel because travelers visited closer-to-home destinations.

Although Californians themselves comprise most of the travel industry, international travelers contribute much to the state economy through tourism. In fact, 21.6 percent of all overseas travel to the US was to California in 2008. California’s leading overseas markets in 2008 include the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, France, South Korea, China, and Taiwan. Because of the strong exchange rates in Europe and Canada, arrivals from these countries increased from 2007, while the poor economy caused a decrease in visitors from Mexico over the last few years.

Transportation

Industry case studies have long demonstrated the relationship between transportation and the economy, and this is becoming increasingly clear as trade and service industries become more and more dependent on reliable and efficient transportation networks.

California is home to an extensive and vast transportation system, made up of large networks throughout the state. California’s terrain is connected by freeways, expressways, and highways, all maintained by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and patrolled mostly by the California Highway Patrol. California is also home to two major hubs for international and domestic travel: Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International Airport. The state also has many seaports that are important to the economy, including the Port of Long Beach, the largest port in the country. In addition, California also has one of the busiest intercity rail lines and numerous bus lines throughout nearly all the counties.