Looking Ahead to 2009

The following blog was posted by Kristine Danz, a partner at Ice Miller LLP.

We can now officially relegate 2008 to the records books. Wall Street took a beating unlike anything we've seen since the 1930s, we witnessed a historical presidential election and a bailout of an unfathomable magnitude. Main Street felt the pinch as well with unemployment on the rise. So what awaits us in 2009?

By all accounts, we're looking at a rough first quarter. According to a survey by the National Venture Capital Association (NCVA), U.S. venture capitalists are forecasting a difficult 2009 for, "the country's economy, the capital markets, and the venture industry as the global financial crisis takes its toll on the entrepreneurial system." Other highlights, or rather lowlights include:

Continued slowdown in the number of IPOs;
Limited investments in seed and early stage investments;
Difficulty in securing funding for newer companies;
Declining returns for VCs.

And now for the good news. Investments in clean technology, life sciences and biotechnology are expected to grow and debt markets will likely improve.

Like they say in the news business, we don't make the news, we just report it.