The year 2006 will go down as one of major upheaval among Oxfordshire businesses, many of them major employers. Top of the list, although not unexpected, was the sale of Blackwell Publishing for £572m to American rival John Wiley & Sons in November.

The deal came after years of speculation over the future direction of the company, which at one time led to a feud between chairman Nigel Blackwell and his uncle, Julian 'Toby' Blackwell. However, there were no signs of animosity after they both left in the same car following the conclusion of the deal, which is expected to net them hundreds of millions of pounds each.

But the traditional bookshops and library side of the business remains, as it was not part of the sale, and survives to write another chapter in the colourful history of the company, which can be traced back to a 12 sq ft bookshop opened in 1879 in Broad Street, Oxford.

Another even more historic institution, Oxford University itself, faced a stormy debate over the future of its governance after vice-chancellor Dr John Hood proposed replacing the 26-member decision-making body with a 15-strong supervisory council.

This would include bringing in business experts from outside the university. However, in November, Congregation, the 'dons' parliament', rejected Dr Hood's proposals. A postal vote saw 61 per cent of dons backing the status quo and it has now been reported that senior members of the Oxford establishment have been looking to replace Dr Hood from within their own ranks. Dr Hood has denied he will stand down.

Interestingly, the Said Business School in Oxford has received a major shot in the arm from outside after its main benefactor, the billionaire Wafic Said, pledged another £15m towards a new £30m extension of the building. While this has nothing to do with governance, the extent to which outside commercial help can benefit an institution is clear. No doubt the town and gown argument will rumble on in 2007, as it has done for centuries.

North Oxfordshire software firm iSoft has suffered an annus horribilis as it lurched from crisis to crisis. In January, it warned of a £55m shortfall in its full-year revenues due to delays in the £6.2bn modernisation of NHS computer systems. Then in April, its shares crashed by 40 per cent amid rumours of further financial difficulties. By June, chief executive Tim Whiston had resigned, while more than ten per cent of the workforce was made redundant.

In August the bombshell dropped that it was to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority for irregularities in accounts, quickly followed by news that it had made a net loss of £382.2m. By October, it had put itself up for sale after switching its headquarters operation from Manchester to Banbury.

Talks are progressing, although the Accountancy Investigation and Disciplinary Board, which regulates accountants, is also to investigate the business.

Meanwhile, Oxford Instruments suffered another turbulent year. In March, it cut 50 jobs as it closed its Eynsham plant and three months later unveiled a £900,000 loss.

It is moving away from its once core business of superconducting magnets and that is also having a knock-on effect on supplier firms such as BGM Cryogenic Engineering, which was put up for sale last month after going into administration with the loss of 39 jobs.

But Oxford Instruments, now based at Tubney Woods, near Abingdon, had better news last month when it reported it was back in profit and looking to recruit once more. Hopefully, the resurgence at such a key employer will continue.

Less of a resurgence, more of a revolution, has taken place at Oxford's Mini plant over the last five years.

November saw the launch of the second generation of the little car that has saved the Cowley car industry and won friends all over the world. Critics have roundly applauded the new model, which now boasts a British-built engine as well as a host of other improvements. Chancellor Gordon Brown readily jumped on the bandwagon to officially launch production in September.

With the one-millionth car set to roll off the production line early in 2007, it seems there is no end to the Mini adventure.

Expect more news, too, from the £380m Diamond Light Source at Chilton, near Didcot, which in November marked its first major milestone as it delivered its first 'synchrotron' light beam, allowing experiments to get under way.

Scientists hope the doughnut-shaped 'supermicroscope', which represents the biggest civilian science facility to be built in the UK for 30 years, will help unravel the mystery of how the universe is made, as well as allowing the speedier development of new medical treatments. As Douglas Adams suggested, perhaps the art will be not so much finding the answers as working out what the questions are in the first place.

What about a guess at future events in 2007? News can never be an exact science, as it's very difficult to predict, but I'm going to stick my neck out. Expect another postal strike, house prices to rise and traffic problems to escalate. How about that for staying on safe ground?