U.S. Debt Troubles Cause Concern for VCs: The recent stock market fluctuation and U.S. credit downgrade are causing concern for some investors in Silicon Valley, though others believe the startup community is insulated from the rest of the country’s economic woes. Still, analysts say companies with any kind of pending deal have cause for concern if things don't settle down soon. VentureBeat Despite Gains, Some Tech Workers Struggle: Although technology hiring in the Bay Area continues to rise, companies continue to be picky about who they bring on-board. Those who've been out of tech work for a year or more, or who don't have an A-list school or blue-chip company pedigree are finding it difficult to track down opportunities. San Francisco Examiner Cisco Bounces Back: Cisco Systems ended its fiscal fourth quarter with signs its rebounding from heavy losses and company missteps. Although its profits dropped 36 percent from the year-ago period, the company's earnings came to 40 cents a share on revenue of $11.2 billion for the quarter. Analysts had expected profits of 38 cents a share on $10.9 billion in revenue. San Jose Mercury News Indian Companies “Insource”: Indian IT outsourcing companies are increasingly looking to hire thousands of engineers and business development specialists in Silicon Valley and nationwide. The shift represents the growing complexity of outsourced work that now requires levels of expertise not widely found in India. San Jose Mercury News Silicon Valley “Undertaker” Says Business is Booming: Sherwood Partners, whose niche is efficiently closing down failed companies, says 2010 was a lot like 2000, when it turned off the lights for a record number of tech businesses. One thing the company's noticed: "An ever-smaller group of companies is attracting all the financing, including through the IPO market, and once a company gets such a huge concentration of cash, those without as much begin drifting away." PEHUB Is Silicon Valley the Clean Tech Capital?: Some believe Silicon Valley is the epicenter of America’s clean tech industry, with billions of dollars in VC funding being invested in energy-related companies. On top of that, over the last decade clean tech jobs in the region have grown by 109 percent. The Energy Collective SunPower and Ford Partner for Solar-Powered Cars: Sunpower, Silicon Valley's largest solar manufacturer, announced a partnership with Ford to build a rooftop solar system for cars. The 2.5-kilowatt rooftop system is expected to provide enough electricity to fuel an electric car that travels about 1,000 miles per month. San Jose Mercury News San Jose Geek Capital of America: The National Science Foundation ranked the top 20 cities in the U.S. by percentage of workers with jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. With 18.2 percent of its workforce employed in tech or science, San Jose got the geek crown. Forbes