January 22, 2010 | New York Times

The decade ending in 2009 was the warmest on record, new surface temperature figures released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration show. 2009 was the second warmest year since 1880, when modern temperature measurement began. The warmest year was 2005. Other hottest recorded years have all occurred since 1998, NASA reports.

January 22, 2010 | Dow Jones Venture Source

An overall bad year ended on a high note as venture deal activity increased in the fourth quarter of 2009. Venture investors put $6.3 billion to work in 743 deals in the most recent quarter, up slightly from the $6.1 billion invested in 619 deals during the same period in 2008, according to statistics released by Dow Jones VentureSource.

January 26, 2010 | Orlando Sentinel

Barely a week after a disappointing results to date of Florida's billion dollar biotech initiative were published, one of the prime recipients, Burnham Institute in Orlando, this morning unveiled a huge $50B gift providing opportunity for major expansion.

George Lipper, Editor

While 2009 recorded a significant drop (37%) in overall venture funding, the pain was at least widely shared. Money Tree's just-released numbers largely confirm that the major players, still led by California, did fewer new deals -- likely stockpiling cash for existing potential portfolio firms. A more encouraging statistic lies in the share of funds drawn to the seed and startup category -- more than 18% of the deals and 19% of the money. That's about triple what was reported during the mid-years of the Aughts. It's relative, but, a relative like your favorite uncle.