February 21, 2014 | Entrepreneur

There is excitement on "Main Street" about equity crowdfunding democratizing the investment process. Most people are unaware of another provision of the JOBS Act that could have a much larger impact on entrepreneurs and small businesses: Regulation A+. This provision will allow entrepreneurs to raise up to $50 million in a simplified form of an initial public offering. Depending on how the SEC rules look when finalized, raising $50 million under Regulation A+ could have a similar cost and require nearly the same regulatory compliance required to raise only $1 million under the JOBS Act “equity crowdfunding” proposed rules.

February 25, 2014 | Wall Street Journal

The website of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox became unavailable Tuesday and trading in bitcoin at the site appeared to have stopped, signaling a new stage in troubles that have dented the image of the virtual currency. Earlier Tuesday, the chief executives of six major bitcoin exchanges and businesses pledged to coordinate efforts to assure customers of the security of their funds in response to mounting concern about the future of Mt. Gox. The statement underlines the wider worry in the bitcoin community that the upheaval at Mt. Gox has caused significant harm to the bitcoin business.

February 24, 2014 | Christian Science Monitor

Across the country, colleges are experimenting with online learning to see how it might reshape higher education in the future. Most expect it to usher in one of the biggest revolutions since the advent of the chalkboard – eventually. For now, online classes – MOOCs in particular – represent more of a tantalizing idea than a transformative one. Critics excoriate the free courses for not having done much yet to help solve the high cost of college. Professors fret that MOOCs threaten in-person teaching and the experience of going to school on campus.

February 23, 2014 | Chicago Tribune

Chicago will be the site of a digital manufacturing institute backed by $70 million in federal money and another $250 million in private and other government funding, giving the city, once a factory town, a better chance to re-establish its credentials as a modern maker of things.

February 24, 2014 | New York Times

Labor union leaders say they hated it. Financial creditors say it's lopsided against them. Some community leaders say it favores the banks. And at least one pension fund official calls it premature and draconian. Yet for all of the discord of the city’s $18 billion debt to creditors, Detroit now moves into a pivotal period where change is being promised at a pace rarely seen in any city.