In the hyper-competitive world of finance, companies are in a never ending race to cash in on market intelligence. Demand for innovation is simple, a need for real-time access to market intelligence that allow them to be smarter and act faster than the rest of the pack.

The eHealth initiative for 2009 is high on the list for stimulus funding this year. Roughly $20 billion of the total $787 will be allocated to a joint healthcare plan, much of it to focus on information technology. The sweet spot for eHealth emphasizes technologies that can electronically consolidate medical records for the health community.

A $17 billion "stimulus" nest egg, a new CEO for General Motors, division spin-offs -- what next for the auto industry? Hopefully Automation Alley is poised to rework some of its old habits.

The Rural Health Care Pilot Program (RHCPP) is an opportunity to expand the state's health care coverage. The objective is to deliver better care to those in more remote areas of the State that don't have accessible health care facilities close by. This is an exciting direction for our health care system.

Social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook are communicative and convenient, but can they do even more? Some of these Web sites, although they've been around awhile now, are still worth taking notice of as they continue to grow at tremendous user rates.

Most of us have noticed there has been a ticker tape occasionally running across the bottom of our televisions, reminding us that the days of traditional rabbit ears with tinfoil sitting on our TVs will soon be a thing of the past. Thanks to the LCD and Plasma television revolution, many people have already made this transition. Timing has never been better to buy a digital television.

In Michigan's state-wide challenge of recruiting new industry, Traverse City really needs to differentiate itself if it wants to compete and boost the local economy. A wireless downtown business district with a technologically competitive infrastructure is a great place to start.