Renaissance Venture Capital announces it has officially raised about $50 million from private corporations to help spark more venture capital investments in Michigan. RVCF, which funds other venture capital firms, says has already invested about $5.8M in six VC firms, who, in turn, have distributed about $23 million to 12 Michigan companies, which have hired about 200 new workers, according to RVCF's figures.

Tri-State Biodiesel was struggling to find capital last year, in the middle of a credit crunch. "Banks weren't lending at all," said Brent Baker, founder and chief executive. In the end, Baker got a $50,000, three-year loan at a reasonable rate from Boc Capital, a lender that received $750,000 in federal stimulus funds last year to help small businesses.

U.S. technology companies are in a bind. Much of their cash is parked abroad and they risk higher taxes if they bring profits from overseas back home. They have joined other U.S. businesses in lobbying for a tax holiday for repatriated earnings, and with no prospects of success in the near term, they're looking for something to do with that money.

A shift in the distribution of venture capital dollars has San Francisco significantly outpacing its South Bay competitors and buoying key industries during the economic downturn. “This is a new trend,” said Ted Egan, chief economist for San Francisco. “High-tech is thought of being a South Bay, Santa Clara thing, [but] we are the leader.”

As part of his pre-election push to spur the slumping economy and his party, President Obama this week will ask Congress to increase and permanently extend a popular but costly tax credit for businesses’ research expenses, and to pay for it by closing other corporate tax breaks, according to administration officials.

Despite being venture capital’s spiritual home, Silicon Valley is turning towards wealthy private investors, reports Richard Waters in San Francisco. Many founders fear that heavy-handed venture capitalists, chasing high returns, will ride roughshod over their concerns. But it doesn’t need to be that way.