A corporate tax break for buyers of computers, engines and other equipment is proving surprisingly popular, depriving the federal government of tens of billions of dollars in expected revenue and increasing the amount it will need to borrow this year. But there may be a silver lining. The tax break aims to stimulate investment, and it seems to be working.

A judge has rejected efforts by lawmakers to help balance the budget by forcing more than 200,000 state, university and school employees to pay larger pension contributions. Last year, lawmakers unilaterally altered the system to have workers contribute 53 percent of the cost, reducing the state's burden to 47 percent in an effort to save the state more than $41 million this year.

For an emerging generation of Japanese innovators, the dream isn't a job for life at a big company. They have new ambitions, and they're determined to go places. Especially Silicon Valley. Small but growing numbers of Japanese entrepreneurs are jumping into the startup scene in northern California

Tax breaks for angel investors have cropped up in recent years in about two dozen states as a means of stimulating job growth. But the effectiveness of the incentives—which range from 15% of funding in Colorado to 100% in Hawaii are coming under greater scrutiny, particularly as states face budget pressure. Many states' programs expired at the end of 2011, were stripped of funding or were placed under a moratorium.

In order for technology companies to bring innovative products to market, they need enthusiastic, educated scientists and engineers to drive the process. To inspire the next generation of researchers, some industrial developers are going back to school.

Patrick Salyer doesn't work at Facebook. He doesn't own any of its stock. But he's one of thousands of entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and around the world who stand to make a lot of money when the Menlo Park social network goes public later this year. Salyer, 30, is chief executive of Gigya, a Palo Alto startup that helps clients such as Nike and Home Depot reach customers via their Facebook accounts.

Before the Stamford Innovation Center even opens, it has already lured one entrepreneur from out of state whose fledgling business might soon contribute to Connecticut's economy. As the center prepares to open in a few weeks, Gov.Dannel P. Malloyon Thursday joined Stamford's mayor, a Sikorsky executive, and the innovation center's staff to celebrate its launch.

Now that Facebook is fast on its way to becoming a public company, and its financials have been laid bare, there’s just one question that remains unanswered: What is Facebook actually worth?

Gov. Dennis Daugaard and South Dakota legislative leaders Thursday celebrated Bel Brands USA’s decision to build a new $100 million cheese manufacturing plant in Brookings that could ultimately employ 400 people. But the governor also had this warning: South Dakota’s ability to lure new companies could be hurt, and the state might be on the hook for millions of dollars in incentives to Bel Brands.

Arizona's biosciences sector is expanding despite the still-struggling economy - boosted in Southern Arizona by expansion at companies

Not everyone on Wall Street is giddy over Facebook’s initial public offering of stock. A group of private exchanges has popped up in recent years to accommodate a fast-growing trading market in the private shares of the Internet companies like Twitter and LinkedIn. Facebook has driven much of this growth, emerging as the most actively traded private company by a wide margin.

The director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development,Jason Hall, has resigned after failing to win confirmation from the state Senate.

You may have a better chance of losing your job working for a big company. Maybe the most important point about entrepreneurship is that people who start or join new companies tend to actually like what they are doing.

Competition for software talent is so fierce that some companies have resorted to buying smaller start-ups in order to absorb their best employees. But buying entire companies to get a handful of talented programmers is a pipe dream for most Bay Area start-ups, so a new class of job sites is emerging to help companies identify the best candidates.

When it comes to tech startups—especially in Internet software and app development—San Diego has been adrift in the horse latitudes. That’s the term Spanish mariners had for the waters where the trade winds died out for days and even weeks at a time. Becalmed sailors desperate to gain some headway would heave their horses overboard to reach the New World. Still, there are signs of a freshening breeze.

Every venture capital firm comes at startup seed investing in its own way (if it does seed at all). Last night in Cambridge, four VC firms opened up about their different seed approaches.

The flow of venture capital into the K-12 education market has exploded over the past year, reaching its highest transaction values in a decade in 2011, industry observers say.