Khitan.org – The Digital Empire

A portion of personal expenses for your home can be turned into a business deduction-- if you meet certain rules.

Sales of small firms improved in 2011 thanks in part to better business performance, data show.

Finding and keeping top-notch vendors can be challenging for first-time business owners who may not know where to look or what to expect.

President Obama plans to consolidate six government departments and agencies, including the Small Business Administration.

The president said that he will elevate the head of the Small Business Administration to a cabinet-level position.

You don't need a big advertising budget to raise consumer awareness, says guest columnist Mike Michalowicz.

Davison International Inc., a 285-employee company that designs and creates kitchen gadgets, toys and other consumer products, turned a 61,000 square-foot Pittsburgh, Pa., building into a hub of unusual work spaces, adding areas such as a pirate ship, a tree house and a castle.

An NFIB survey finds small employers shedding jobs last month, while ADP's payroll data shows gains.

Guest columnist Susan Wilson Solovic on common mistakes entrepreneurs should avoid in 2012.

A group of technology start-ups is taking its cue from social gaming, in hopes of relieving companies, doctors and patients of some of the pain involved in managing health care.

During his career, Frank Keating has served as an FBI agent, a U.S. Attorney, two-term Governor of Oklahoma, and author of children's books. He's now president and chief executive of the American Bankers Association. Gov. Keating sat down with the Boston Business Journal on Friday following a talk he gave for Massachusetts Bankers Association members. Massachusetts bankers want to be relieved of regulatory burdens before they are forced to make major cutbacks to services to trim costs, Keating said...

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center gave a $5 million grant to the Museum of Science Boston on Wednesday to build an exhibit on biology and biotechnology to be called the Hall of Human Life (HHL). The exhibit, expected to open next summer, will include 10,000 square feet of space relying on life sciences research connections through businesses and universities in the area. The HHL itself is planned to include an interactive segment in which visitors can anonymously record their experiences in areas of food, physical forces, living organisms, social experience and time...

Alkermes Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKS) and its California partner Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: AMLN) have finally won approval from the FDA for the diabetes drug Bydureon after years of attempts. In a letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Drug Evaluation, the two partners were told that the New Drug Application that had been originally been submitted in May 2009 was approved and the contents of package labels should be sent to the office as soon as possible. Following the original application in 2009, the FDA issued a complete response letter in March 2010, requesting additional data before the potential drug could be approved...

Quincy, Mass.-based Granite Communications president Rob Hale has joined the Boston Celtics investor group, the Celtics said today. “We are happy to welcome Rob and his family to the Celtics family as a part of our ownership group,” Celtics CEO and Co-owner Wycliff Grousbeck said in a statement. “His entrepreneurial spirit as well as his demonstrated commitment to serving the New England community through various philanthropic efforts makes him a perfect fit with the Celtics.” The Celtics declined to give out specifics on how much Hale invested, a spokeswoman said...

True to its word from a year ago, the state of Massachusetts has ponied up nearly $15 million for a new biomanufacturing plant tied to UMass Dartmouth. In a release Friday, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center board of directors gave final approval to a $14.6 million capital grant to fund the building of the new Massachusetts Biomanufacturing Center in Fall River. The 32,000-square-foot facility will house early stage life sciences companies and span four acres of city-donated land, while 150 acres will be held for potential expansion...

Despite undergoing a second round of regulatory scrutiny in Connecticut, the proposed, $4.7 billion merger of Northeast Utilities (NYSE: NU) and NStar (NYSE: NST) will likely be closed in the second quarter of this year, analysts said. Connecticut regulators said they would complete their review by April 2, two weeks in advance of the companies’ self-proposed deadline. The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) will hold hearings starting Feb. 14, issue a draft decision on March 29 and the final decision a week later, it said last week in an online statement...

Despite the prospects of spending millions of dollars to remove asbestos from a sick building in East Cambridge, dozens of companies — including some of the biggest names in Boston real estate — have toured the former Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse with an eye toward a possible purchase. Developers have until Monday, Feb. 6, to submit bids on the mostly vacant 26-story building on Thorndike Street near the Lechmere MBTA Station. The property is assessed at nearly $110 million. But the new owner will face a host of issues including antiquated HVAC systems and a complete renovation to transform the courtrooms into apartments or offices...

The Mass. economy slowed to a 2.3 percent real GDP growth rate in the fourth quarter, according to a report published today by MassBenchmarks – a slower annualized rate than the 2.8 percent national GDP growth rate for the quarter, posted by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Thursday morning. It's the first time the Bay State has lagged the nation's rate of growth since the second quarter of 2010, according to MassBenchmarks, a University of Massachusetts journal covering the state's economy...

Panera Bread Co. is continuing its expansion in Boston with its latest eatery scheduled to open in March in the Theatre District. The popular, fast-casual restaurant will take about 4,400 square feet of space at City Place in the Massachusetts State Transportation Building on Stuart Street at the former 7-Eleven, which moved to larger space in the building, according to Andrew LaGrega, principal at the Wilder Cos., the Boston commercial real estate broker who handled the deal. Last year, Panera’s flagship cafe opened at 450 Boylston St...

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biotechnology company, plans to launch an IPO next week, raising up to $166.7 million, according to regulatory filings and IPO tracker Renaissance Capital. The Cambridge, Mass. company filed with the SEC to sell 16,666,667 shares of common stock at an estimated initial offering price of between $8 and $10. The company is also granting underwriters the option to purchase up to 2.5 million additional shares for 30 days. Merrimack, which was founded in 2000, plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol MACK...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the fast-casual restaurant buzz whets appetites across the nation, the recipe for success is anyone's guess, from Five Guys Burger and Fries to Chipotle and Panera Bread.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama was set on Thursday to promote a plan for greater use of natural gas and open up more land for offshore drilling during a campaign-style tour aimed at...

TORONTO (Reuters) - Bank of Montreal , which last year targeted small-business lending as a growth area, is hoping a move to increase its loan capacity for the segment will spark an increase in...

BOSTON (Reuters) - If your very best people aren't directly involved in fixing your organization's most persistently boring processes, then you are failing as a leaders, says Harvard Business Review.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New U.S. applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a near four-year low last week, a government report on Thursday showed, pointing to continued improvement in the...

CHANDLER, Arizona (Reuters) - President Barack Obama took his State of the Union tax and job ideas on the road on Wednesday, striking a populist tone in the 2012 swing states Iowa and Arizona to make...

(Reuters) - The venture arm of Verizon Communications Inc and others have invested $8 million in video technology company Skyfire, which plans to expand into European and Asian markets.

(Reuters) - Dutch electronics giant Philips said it would sell its stake in the Senseo coffee brand to partner Sara Lee Corp. and pledged to keep working with the US-based firm on developing coffee...

(Reuters) - Beyond Oblivion, a digital music startup backed by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and investment bank Allen & Co Director Stanley Shuman has filed for bankruptcy protection after spending...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Not too long ago, Web coding was the rarified realm of computer geeks, but a new crop of entrepreneurs is making this valuable computer skill available to just about anyone with...