BURLINGAME, Calif.- Fund-raising by U.S. venture capitalists plunged 71 percent in the fourth quarter, squeezed by the global economic recession and a decreasing appetite for risk by big, institutional investors. Venture capitalists-who take stakes in start-up companies, hoping to profit later when they go public or are sold-raised just $3.4 billion from investors in the
SOUTHFIELD - Advanced propulsion technology is becoming a critical area in the automotive industry. In response to the demand for skilled professionals to fill job opportunities in that field, the Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD) along with General Motors Corporation and Michigan Technological University have teamed up to help Michigan's displaced automotive engineers re-train, re-tool
LANSING - Michigan's 15 public universities will continue efforts to train Michigan residents and provide them employment in Michigan, but they need more state funding to keep up those efforts, the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan said in an editorial Tuesday. Thomas Hass, president of Grand Valley State University and chair of the Presidents
NEW YORK - Pfizer Inc. plans to lay off as many as 2,400 sales staff, up to a third of its marketing work force, this quarter as the drug maker reorganizes its commercial side, according to a person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. The layoffs follow the New York company's recent
DETROIT - The Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation has announced its sixth annual university scholarship, research grant and laptop grant program, aimed at encouraging deserving female students to pursue information technology and technical careers. Deadline for submission is Feb. 27. The 2009 competition commences immediately; and is open to women, of all ages,
LANSING - The Detroit River International Crossing is one step closer to becoming a new route across the nation's busiest border with approval of the environmental study. But the DRIC project still has some substantial hurdles to clear before construction can begin. The Record of Decision by the Federal Highway Administration, issued Wednesday, is the
LANSING - Preliminary indications of what U. S. House Democrats propose in an $825 billion economic stimulus bill were encouraging, but officials in the Granholm administration wanted to see full details of the bill before they could say what the benefit to Michigan could be. They also cautioned that the measure that was released from
RICHMOND, Va. - Circuit City Stores Inc., the second-biggest U.S. consumer electronics retailer, reached an agreement with liquidators on Friday to sell the merchandise in its 567 U.S. stores after failing to line up a buyer or a refinancing deal. Circuit City has about two dozen stores in Michigan. The company, which employs more than
LANSING - A package of bills authorizing a privately-constructed 3.4-mile light rail line in Detroit has been signed by Governor Jennifer Granholm. The bills allow some $100 million in contributions from philanthropists to be used for building the line along Woodward Avenue, connected sporting and cultural venues. The system's operating funds would come from government
WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama's administration and the Congress will need to take more steps to revive the ailing U.S. economy, and the focus should be on strengthening the financial system, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday. "The Federal Reserve will do its part to promote economic recovery, but other policy measures will be