Bloomberg's Peter Elstrom discusses China's venture capital boom with Bloomberg's Emily Chang on "Bloomberg West." (Source: Bloomberg)

A quick look at tech stocks so far in January 2016 reveals Box trading nearly 30% below its IPO price; hardware company GoPro down more than 40%. Both of Jack Dorsey’s companies, Square and Twitter TWTR -6.67%, have lost about one-fifth of the value on their share prices. Even stalwarts like Apple AAPL -3.23% and Google GOOGL -3.16% parent Alphabet are feeling a little hurt, down about 8%.

This is shaping up to be a year of opportunities. There are over 100 occupations that have more openings than have been filled by qualified candidates, creating a job-seeker’s market. No wonder we’re able to , apply via social media, and work from anywhere in greater numbers than ever before.

Success for startups is often elusive, but there are underlying characteristics that can give growing companies a leg up on the competition, especially when it comes to the most important factor—recruiting and retaining top-tier talent. At Norwest, I have found that companies that have a purposeful mission—one that hinges on giving back and making an impact in society—are increasingly better able to hire and retain talent.

Entrepreneurship, like so much of American history, began on our nation's farms. From the moment the first ancestors planted a seed, watered it and waited for its bountiful harvest, the need for food has inspired generations of farmers to create, innovate and grow business ventures. From Eli Whitney's famous Cotton Gin in 1793 to John Deere and his Steel plow in 1837, America's farmers have long been stalwarts of entrepreneurship, experimentation and innovation. After all, no other activity do we engage in as regularly, as feeding ourselves. It is thanks to these past innovators that today few people in this country go hungry.

It's wise to think ahead when it comes to cancer, says William Nelson, one of the nation's leading oncologists and director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University.

That includes taking steps like avoiding tobacco and tanning beds, especially when you're young.

In their bid for a greater share of the global innovation economy, seven countries—including China, India, and Canada—sought advantage in 2015 by embracing some of the world’s most glaring examples of protectionist and trade-distorting public policies, according to an analysis by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).

Hurricane Sandy became the second costliest hurricane to hit the United States when it blew ashore in October 2012, killing 159 people and inflicting $71 billion in damage. Informally known as a "superstorm" after it made landfall, Sandy was so destructive largely because of its unusual size and track. After moving north from the tropical waters where it spawned, Sandy turned out to sea before hooking back west, growing in size and crashing head-on into the East Coast, gaining strength when it merged with an eastbound mid-latitude storm.

Image: IMAGE: THIS IMAGE DEPICTS THE OUTPUT OF A COMPUTER MODEL DESIGNED TO REPRODUCE THE WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT CREATED HURRICANE (LATER SUPERSTORM) SANDY IN OCTOBER 2012, WITH ONE KEY DIFFERENCE: 

Everyone agrees that Millennials are an overwhelmingly “plugged in” generation. 85% of Millennials own smartphones, and 80% sleep with their phones beside them in bed. I am one such Millennial.

Other research suggests, however, that Millennials seem to find technology stressful. Surveys have shown that technology is causing us all — Millennials, Gen Xers, Boomers — more stress.

CHICAGO, IL and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Jan 19, 2016) - Innovation, liveability and the capacity to reinvent characterize the most dynamic cities in JLL's (NYSE: JLL) third annual City Momentum Index (CMI). London, Silicon Valley*, Dublin, Bangalore and Boston top the list by successfully creating environments that attract cutting-edge new businesses, nurture top talent, leverage technology and provide vibrant, inclusive communities.

Neuroscientist Jon Pierce-Shimomura, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, needed some special mice for a research project on alcohol addiction but the costs weren't in his budget.

So he turned to crowdfunding, fundraising efforts via online platforms used by everyone from startups to charities. Universities are also getting into the game.

The CEO of the Investment Industry Association of Canada is not exactly on board with crowdfunding. Reports in Financial Post published late last week said Ian Russell has spoken out against crowdfunding, arguing that the nation’s stock exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, targeted towards early-stage companies, is “a far more effective vehicle for raising capital than crowdfunding and provides far better protection for investors.”

On Tuesday, the password-management company SplashData released its annual list of the most popular passwords of the past year.

SplashData took a look at the more than 2 million passwords that got leaked last year, analyzing the most commonly leaked passwords and those that were least secure.

According to the 2015 Kauffman Index on startup activity, American startups are on the rebound, with approximately 310 entrepreneurs for every 100,000 adults in the U.S. today. That translates into roughly 530,000 new business owners coming onto the scene every month.

Robust innovation is essential for economic growth and social progress around the world. Until now, most studies of innovation policy looked at how nations’ policies affect innovation in their own country. This report assesses 56 countries—which comprise almost 90 percent of the global economy—on 27 factors reflecting the extent to which their economic and trade policies contribute to and detract from innovation globally.

Corporate venture capitalists invested $7.6 billion in startups in the United States last year, the largest investment year since 2000, according to the MoneyTree Report put out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the National Venture Capital Association and based on data from Thomson Reuters.

The funds went into 905 deals, or 21 percent of all venture transactions.

The annual total was up 37 percent in dollars from 2014’s $5.5 billion.

Miguel Jimenez, a 20-year-old amateur musician in Appleton, Wis., had his eye on a classic Rickenbacker bass guitar last year. He searched the Internet and found Reverb, an online marketplace for musical instruments, which had the bass guitar he wanted. But the price tag was $1,600.

The unicorn wars are coming, as the downturn in the market will force these onetime highfliers to seek money at valuations below their earlier billion-dollar-plus levels, known as “down rounds.”

Whether you are a spectator or part of the blood bath, here is what you can expect in the coming clashes among employees, founders and investors.

Image: http://www.nytimes.com

Deal-making at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, typically happens at lavish private dinners and carefully orchestrated hotel-room meetings. For the entrepreneurs who attend the conference, hoping to build connections with the global elite, it sometimes requires a more forthright approach.

Image: Nina Tandon is the chief executive of EpiBone, a fledgling biotech company in Brooklyn that was chosen to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos. Credit Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

February 16, 2016 : 2:30 PM EST

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