In the News...

San Jose, Calif. - The economic slowdown that is choking off companies? access to cash from the banks and in the bond market is also hitting the startup community, which until now has been a powerful force in building the new economy.

At a gathering of 370 entrepreneurs and investors here put on by the Canadian consulate, attendees tempered their long-term optimism for the high-tech market with concerns about capital pools drying up.

?In the second half of 2001, the consensus is that venture capitalists won?t be able to raise a dime,? said Brent Holliday of Greenstone Venture Partners.

Institutional investors, including large pension funds, will be reviewing their investments next spring and most will pull back when they realize the negative returns they?ve suffered, Mr. Holliday said.