WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. venture capitalists are forecasting a difficult 2009 for the country's economy, the capital markets, and the venture industry as the global financial crisis takes its toll on the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This bad news was contained in the third annual National Venture Capital Association Predictions Survey, which predicts the coming year will
KANSAS CITY - Angel group leaders report in a recent survey by the Angel Capital Association that investments have decreased this year and will decline as well in 2009 compared to 2007 due to the current recession. However, some angel groups have increased their investment activity this year and believe they will make additional investments
SAN JOSE, Ca. - Three years ago Venture Capitalist Timothy Draper graced the cover of a financial-industry trade magazine wearing a wide grin and a Captain America costume. Draper, the tagline said, had joined the "League of Extraordinary VCs" for his smart investments in Chinese search service Baidu and free PC phone service Skype. Both
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Federal Reserve on Christmas Eve approved GMAC Financial Services' application to become a bank-holding company, a status that would give the auto-financing arm of General Motors Corp. access to government bailout dollars and the Fed's discount window. The move complements a $17.4 billion emergency loan package the government extended to GM
MIDLAND - Nine months after forming, the BlueWater Angels investment group has closed on their first investment in the mid-Michigan region, netting Midland-based Fulcrum Composites more than $200,000 to continue research, development and marketing for their business venture, focusing on alternative energy options. The investment by BWA is the part of a larger investment round
ANN ARBOR - Washtenaw County development agency Ann Arbor SPARK has named Christine Turner as executive director, business development. In her role, Turner will join Vince Nystrom and Ann Arbor SPARK's business development team in managing business attraction and retention efforts, cultivating a vibrant and robust business community throughout Washtenaw County. Prior to joining Ann
LANSING - Consumers Energy will be able to charge more for its natural gas service and Detroit Edison more for electricity, but both increases were substantially below what the utilities requested under orders issued Tuesday by the Public Service Commission. Edison was allowed an $83.6 million increase in its rates, but that was below both
LANSING - Bidding on providing physicians and hospital care for prisoners has yielded a new provider for the Department of Corrections, a company based in Tennessee, according to reports. Prison Health Services, based in Brentwood, Tennessee, will reportedly take over the prison healthcare system in April, replacing Correctional Medical Services for the $326 million contract.
SILVER SPRING, MD. - New AIIM research found that 54 percent of organizations manually re-key some of the content they receive from customers, suppliers, and partners. Nearly 40 percent of respondents say they don't scan any of their incoming documents, implying that they still haven't tapped into the enormous benefits of converting paper documents into
TORONTO - Some say social networking came of age in 2008 and as it continues to mature over the course of 2009, it will live up to the hype as the next "killer app". But beyond social networking, what will Web 2.0 do for businesses in a forthcoming year that is economically unpredictable? According to