As Monday morning rolls in, we’re providing TechWire readers with a quick recap of the past week’s news headlines.

Notable news stories from last week included: Merck’s $2.75 billion acquisition of VelosBio was one of the most successful exits of Durham VC firm Pappas Capital; life science manufacturer Catalent is cutting 84 jobs at its plant in Morrisville; North Carolina tied with Georgia for the top spot in Site Selection’s prominent 2020 Business Climate Ranking; several North Carolina companies reported their latest quarterly earnings, including ChannelAdvisor, CommScope, Duke Energy, LendingTree, Charles & Colvard, and many life science firms.

A few local companies secured new funding last week, including Winston Salem-based MOMI Brands ($1 million), Research Triangle Park-based BioAesthetics, Raleigh-based Mediacom Technologies ($1.25 million) and Raleigh-based Without a Trace Foods ($188,000). Read more local startup news in our weekly Startup Rewind and Startup Spotlight editions.

And, in national news: U.S. stocks surged through election week; the U.S. dollar is weakening; solar power stocks are all the rage on Wall Street; the value of Bitcoin increased 40% since early-October, its highest level in almost three years; the Department of Justice is blocking Visa’s $5.3 billion Plaid acquisition due to alleged antitrust violations.

Keeping with our Monday “TechWire Rewind” tradition, here’s a look back at 75 local, state and national headlines as reported by WRAL TechWire last week:

MONDAY | November 2 Headlines:

TUESDAY | November 3 Headlines:

WEDNESDAY | November 4 Headlines:

THURSDAY | November 5 Headlines:

FRIDAY | November 6 Headlines:

Weekend Reading: