Venture investing may be slowing down in the valley, but M&A activity is running strong. From Hewlett-Packard and Cisco Systems to Intel and Oracle, some of Silicon Valley's largest companies charged out of the recession with fat bankrolls and a determination to spend whatever it takes this year to reshape their businesses around emerging technologies.

Ask an LP what they like about venture capital, and the gut response these days is likely to be a long pause. Limited partners used to have standard answers. With venture returns for the decade now in negative territory, however, those reasons no longer sound so compelling.

Last week’s ruling ordering an immediate halt in federal funding for stem cell research has thrown academic research circles into a state of confusion. This has caught the attention of the VC community, as the venture-backed biotech world is largely dependent on technology developed in academic institutions.

Vilas County has an abundance of resorts, snowmobile and bike trails, but not many entrepreneurs. That has spurred a group of high-profile business people, many with vacation homes in Eagle River and surrounding areas, to begin planning an angel investing group as part of a larger economic development strategy.

Access to early-stage growth in young companies is often difficult to obtain, and the purpose of this tax credit is to encourage direct investment from individuals in high-tech businesses. It aims to expand the economy of Georgia by enlarging its base of wealth-creating business, thus increasing the number of quality and high-paying jobs.

Many high-tech companies are holding healthy piles of cash, and with low returns in the investment markets, it makes more sense to spend it on acquisitions, analysts say. "Companies are flush with cash. You've got to put it to use," says Robert Profusek. He predicted a "phenomenally active" fourth quarter for acquisitions.