LANSING - Returning from the annual meeting of the National Association of State Budget Officers, Budget Director John Nixon said the state was in very good shape fiscally compared to other states, especially in light of the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. That downgrade will affect other states, including possibly Virginia and Maryland which
LANSING - Negotiations on setting a fixed amount local government employees must pay toward their health insurance appear on track, with a conference committee vote likely the week the Legislature comes back into session. Sen. Mark Jansen (R-Gaines Township), chair of the SB 7 conference panel, said Friday he has been working with Rep. Tom
DETROIT ? If you missed the WJR Newsradio 760 interview of MITechNews.Com Editor Mike Brennan and cyber security expert Richard Stiennon discussing their new cyber crime novella, you can listen to it on demand. To listen to the 10-minute segment that provides the back story on Cyber Styletto ? an insider?s look at the cyber
EGHAM, United Kingdom - Worldwide sales of mobile devices to end users totaled 428.7 million units in the second quarter of 2011, a 16.5 percent increase from the second quarter of 2010, according to Gartner Inc. Sales of smartphones were up 74 percent year-on-year and accounted for 25 percent of overall sales in the second
HONG KONG - Hackers broke into the Hong Kong stock exchange news Web site today, forcing the exchange to suspend trading of seven companies, according to The Wall Street Journal. The affected companies, which included HSBC, Cathay Pacific Airways and the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, which runs the bourse, had all released price-sensitive information
LANSING - Three organization representing retired workers have joined together in a brief before the Michigan Supreme Court arguing the recently enacted income tax on pensions is unconstitutional. The State Employees Retirement Association, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association and AARP jointly made the argument to the court in an amicus brief. The
LANSING - This past spring the likelihood the United States would fall into another recession was at 10 percent in Lawrence Yun's mind; now that estimation has grown to 30 percent. Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, told the National Conference of State Legislatures summit the "economic weapons" to combat a
ANN ARBOR ? Applications are open for the Ann Arbor SPARK Entrepreneur Boot Camp, a two-day intensive training session that starts Sept. 29. Entrepreneur Boot Camp is an instructive way to gain critical feedback and advice about your business model, management team, competitive positioning, market strategy and other key elements that determine if a start-up
GRAND RAPIDS ? Jason James, an independent film producer from Grand Rapids, is shooting an all digital movie in West Michigan using actors from around the state. The film, to be release around Christmas, is called Dirty Bomb ? and focuses on terrorist threatening to unleash a virus that would wipe out much of mankind.
NOVI ? Arbor Wind Power Turbines won the TiEQuest business-plan competition hosted by TiE Detroit, while Environmental Transporation Solutions was the runner up. Each won cash prizes. But Arbor Wind is automatically entered in the TiE Global competition as well as a semi finalist in the $1 million Accelerate Business Innovation Competition. The Winner, Arbor