Venture capital funding for Triangle startups hit a 15-year low in 2012, although the numbers increased in the second half of the year.

According to a report from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, Triangle companies raised $11.8 million in the first quarter of 2012 compared to $53.6 million in the fourth quarter.

Read David Ranii's story here.

Fast Company, a business magazine and website, released its list of best business books of 2012.
1. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain, Crown, 352 pages.
2. How Will You Measure Your Life? By Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth and Karen Dillon, HarperBusiness, 240 pages.
3. Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours, by Robert C. Pozen, HarperBusiness, 304 pages.
4. The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don’t, by Nate Silver, Penguin Press, 544 pages.

In honor of today's calendar oddity -- it's 12-12-12 -- Krispy Kreme is offering a deal when you buy 12 doughnuts.

Buy one dozen Original Glazed doughnuts and get a second dozen Original Glazed free.

The offer is good today only, of course.

Print the coupon on the Krispy Kreme Facebook page.

Claim: “Erv Portman was the only county commissioner to vote against increasing by $4 million classroom funding in the Wake County Public Schools.”

Source: A print ad distributed by the N.C. Republican Party

Context: Erv Portman is a Wake County Commissioner running as a Democrat for a seat in the state Senate representing District 17. His opponent is Tamara Barringer.

A recent ad by the N.C. GOP calls Portman “wrong on education” because of his vote against an increase in classroom funding.

Claim: “The best incentive for new jobs in North Carolina ... is not to have the highest sales tax, the highest corporate tax and the highest income tax in the Southeast, which is what we have right now.”

Speaker: Pat McCrory

Context: McCrory compares North Carolina’s tax rates to its peers as part of his pitch to make the state more competitive and business-friendly. We will look at just the tax rates here.

Claim: “There is only one person up here who has proposed new taxes and that is the lieutenant governor along with Gov. Perdue, when just three, four months ago they were recommending a 15 percent sales tax increase.”

Speaker: Republican candidate Pat McCrory, gubernatorial debate Oct. 3

Context: McCrory hit his Democratic rival early in the debate for supporting a sales-tax hike pitched earlier this year by Gov. Bev Perdue.

Claim: “Three times when I was in the N.C. Senate, and as lieutenant governor, I took a voluntary cut in pay to empathize with state employees because I think if they are suffering you have to lead by example. At the height of the financial collapse in Charlotte, when unemployment was at its highest, the mayor took at 19 percent pay raise.”

Speaker: Democratic candidate Walter Dalton, gubernatorial debate Oct. 3

Context: In making a point about leadership during the debate, Dalton makes two claims: one about his salary and one about McCrory’s record. Both need context.

Claim: "Now, Walter Dalton is pushing Perdue's 15 percent tax increase -- that will kill 8,000 jobs."

Speaker: Republican Governors Association TV advertisement

Context: The RGA debuted a new TV commercial Sept. 28 that attacked Democratic candidate Walter Dalton for supporting a sales tax increase.

Sponsor: Republican Governors Association ad, "Year after Year"

Claim: “Year after year Walter Dalton has raised taxes on families and businesses.”

Context: Dalton served as a state senator from 1997 until 2009, when he took

Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory rolled out his first TV advertisement June 1. The 30-second spot featured McCrory casually walking in an empty warehouse, talking to the camera. It was paid for by the Pat McCrory Committee. 

Claim: "Let's forget about politics for a while and think about us. That's what we tried in Charlotte when I was mayor.” 

Context: McCrory’s line suggests he was beyond partisan politics during his tenure in Charlotte. But it depends on who you ask.