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:
- Bandwidth’s general counsel is stepping down; management team is revamped
- How about a Silicon Mac? Apple’s next big show set for Nov. 10
- Inside ever-growing Syneos Health’s $400M acquisition of Synteract
- Nov. headliners, part I: Previewing 70+ upcoming events & webinars across Triangle
- Nov. headliners, part II: Previewing 50 events & webinars coming up across NC
- On the event horizon: Previewing 79 webinars, conferences, panels & more events in Dec.
- Quantum computing startups are making waves – so too are IBM, Toshiba
- Report: Venture capitalist industry floods Biden with record funding
- Startup Rewind: NC IDEA grants, funding and pivots – recapping latest startup news
- Startup Spotlight: Latest in esports trends, tech highlight RIoT’s Demo Night
- Survey: 25% of women consider career change due to pandemic; 40% mull STEM
- Tech Today: IBM pulls a plug; best of Lenovo Tech World; Fortnite-Marvel; Apple warns on fees; Cisco CEO talks ‘flexibility’
- Tech Today: Lenovo’s Black Friday deals; ChannelAdvisor CEO on Today Show; MOMI raises $1M; Liquidia to make acquisition + Chiesi, Paraxel, PPD, Kineticos, Millena news
- TechWire Rewind: AskBio $4B deal; earnings; corporate expansions; 80+ more headlines from last week
- TikTok to keep ticking in US – at least for now
- Triangle networking guide: 152 local tech & startup meetups you can join
- Weekly additions, including more COVID-19 resources, keep Triangle Startup Guide growing
- Why were predictions about a pandemic vaccine wrong? Experts say …
TUESDAY | November 3 Headlines:
- Analyst: Changes in cloud mean new opportunities – here are details in new infographic
- ‘A perfect quarter’ for Lenovo says CEO: Profits soar 53%, growth surges during pandemic
- As pandemic continues, MCNC’s new chief executive faces challenge of delivering more broadband, services
- A top executive at Heat Biologics is stepping down
- Bulls are running worldwide as election begins – here’s what’s happening
- Durham medtech startup 410 Medical receives FDA clearance for fluid administration device
- Fortnite promises ‘next-gen’ version will be ready for new gaming consoles
- Humans win, robots lose: Walmart gives up on scanning robots
- Stock market debut of China fintech giant Ant Financial is suspended
- The essential tech checklist: 5 things entrepreneurs, leaders must understand to protect their products and their business
- US dollar likely to remain weak regardless of who wins presidency
- W-S startup raises $1M to help fund breast pump, infant feeding system
WEDNESDAY | November 4 Headlines:
- A gig economy victory: Uber, Lyft prevail in $200M Calif. battle over driver status
- Biogen stock skyrockets on news FDA may back its Alzheimer’s drug
- Donald Thompson: Leading your team through election emotions
- Jobs to fill? Here’s the truth about finding strong tech talent
- Novan receives OK to move stock listing, mulls possible reverse stock split
- Raleigh’s GeneVentiv Therapeutics signs deal with UNC for potential hemophilia therapy
- Researchers: Study discovers risks in gene editing of human embryos
- RTP startup focusing on biomaterials, breast reconstruction lands cash from Launch Place
- Solar power stocks are shining on Wall Street – here’s why
- Tech Today: Cisco CEO talks 5G; Intel’s ML buy; Bandwidth investor sells shares + CommScope, Curtis-Wright, Iqvia, BioCryst news
- Wall Street’s election nightmare becomes reality: ‘Amid the lack of clarity, patience is required’
THURSDAY | November 5 Headlines:
- Big life science manufacturer is cutting jobs at Morrisville plant
- Biocryst treatment for genetic disease HAE lands early access approval in UK
- Chip maker Qorvo beats Sreet: CEO says ‘next-generation products’ drive demand
- Duke, UNC researchers tackle synthetic biology through $7.5M Pentagon grant
- FDA authorizes surgical mask from HanesBrands, NCSU, UNC
- IBM launches Cloud for Telecommunications with Cisco, Nokia, Samsung, Lenovo, other partners
- Nasdaq, Big Tech stocks booming – but here’s why that may not be good for economy
- Pappas Capital makes one of its ‘most successful exits’ in Merck $2.75B deal for startup
- PRA Health warns ‘full extent’ of pandemic remains ‘uncertain’ but tops Street
- Raleigh medical software firm Medicom looks to raise $3M
- Remote workers thrive at the Crystal Coast
- Report: eHealth deals help drive up M&A activity in third quarter
- San Francisco voters embrace ‘Overpaid Executive Tax’ to address ‘growing economic inequality’
- Wall Street expectations of ‘blue wave’ election were wrong – but stocks still surging
- World’s richest man Jeff Bezos sells $3B in Amazon stock
FRIDAY | November 6 Headlines:
- As pandemic drives more ecommerce, ChannelAdvisor beats Wall Street expectations
- A split decision for Duke Energy in latest earnings report
- As stocks surge, Big Tech reaping benefits from ‘Goldilocks scenario’ for investors
- Bitcoin’s value surges 40% over past few weeks to above $15,000
- Charles & Covard financials shine a bit brighter than in 2019
- CommScope’s new CEO eyes ‘cost-cutting’ after company reports $116M loss
- Duke-led team finds genetic marker that could boost fight against infant brain damage
- Feds step in to block Visa’s $5.3B acquisition of fintech startup
- Government recovers $1B in bitcoins linked to now-defunct dark web site
- LendingTree CEO seeks to reassure investors after a big quarterly loss
- NC life science bloodbath: BioDelivery in the black but BioCryst, Aerie, TransEnterix, Chimerix, vTv report big losses
- Nearing launch, Raleigh startup Without a Trace Foods is raising cash
- North Carolina ties Georgia for top spot in economic development ratings
- Raleigh startup EDJX testing an edge computing platform that has company ‘drinking through a firehose’
- Take heart, Fortnite players: Game could be returning to iPhones
- Why I joined COVID-19 clinical trial: UNC doctor who is vice chair of diversity, inclusion explains in video