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The MoneyTree report on Venture Capital issued today shows a relatively robust funding environment for many seed and early stage companies, with the Internet being a surprising exception. According to the report venture capital investing volume in Q2 2007 is at its highest level since 2001. The growth is driven by investments in early stage or seed companies across multiple industries.

Ever since TV came on the scene, people have expected radio to bow out. There have been times when it looked as though that was what would happen. But each time, radio has come back. Perhaps because we spend so much time in cars commuting to and from work and because radio talk shows have become increasingly popular, it may never go away, even though the technology is primitive by today’s standards.

China is making huge strides in its economy, but remains very uncomfortable with the internet and other freedoms. This lag-time will haunt the country as it moves into the 21st century and assumes a -- if not the -- major leadership role among nations. Banning Wikipedia is a silly but telling symbol of how stuck China still is between centuries.

No need to fear, incompetent WASPs continue to rule corporate America.

Virtual worlds have received a lot of hype recently. Although I think they are kind of neat, I don't think they're ready for prime time today, if ever.

Bernanke has it in his hands to control the spiraling credit crunch by lowering rates (or even indicating that he is seriously thinking of doing so) or to keep credit relatively tight and push the market and the economy into a real danger zone. Greenspan, in the past, made a habit of getting in front of potential shocks to the economy by acting to forestall them. But, Unlike Greenspan, Bernanke -- coming out of the academy and distant from the real world -- is willing to let the market play out on its own. It is a hell of a time to have an academic in this post.

All the effort to pick stocks, to follow them closely day after day, to watch breathlessly as they go up (and mostly down), and to weigh strategies can tear one’s insides out – especially at times like this – and often lead to major disappointments. Why bother when Warren Buffett can do it for you, and win all or most of the time. His holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, just posted a 33% surge in net income for the second quarter. And, when the Dow dropped 285 points, Bershire shares lost .00001% of their value.

A few stocks to short to soften the blow of the next few weeks

One of Boston's nicest residential addresses will soon be for sale. If you have $15 million plus you should consider it.

Bekow is a list of the 10 keys to the success of the New England Patriots. There are many lessons for operating a company in watching the Pats manage their team.

With all the failures in grocery delivery, it is strange, indeed, to see Amazon putting its toe into this arena. But that is exactly what Amazon is doing. They have begun, without fanfare, to deliver fresh groceries in the Seattle area. For any other company, one would just say they probably have lost their sense of direction. But, Amazon is another case entirely.

As all of the money center banks and investment banks have their stocks fall off of a cliff, General Electric's stock is sticking to a 5 year high. This doesn't make any sense to me.