Could the wheels of techie commerce once again be spinning? Two news items today suggest that yes, the powers that be are opening their wallets. First off, that long talked about Microsoft-Yahoo deal may be moving forward, with Microsoft execs in Silicon Valley all last week negotiating, and Microsoft now appearing primarily interested in Yahoo's search engine and advertising business.

And this piece from NBC Bay Area talks about twc start-ups, SpineGuard and Qik, which have each received recent infusions of venture capital to the tune of $4-5 million. This should come as a relief to anyone working for a start-up that may be on the hunt for investors, and for the rest of us, well... maybe this means nothing.