If it’s money that matters most when people look for work or to relocate for a new job, then West Michigan may be at a disadvantage in competing for the coveted talent needed to drive economic growth.

HASTINGS — Hastings Mutual Insurance Co. President and CEO Joseph Babiak plans to retire on March 31.

Gun Lake Investments started 2022 with a permanent CEO in place and plans to become more active in the market.

Jerry VanderLugt sees Wall Street with further volatility in 2022. The founder and principal of JVL Wealth Strategies LLC, which recently moved to a new office in Wyoming, VanderLugt spoke with MiBiz about the market in the new year, the prospect of rising interest rates and higher inflation, and where investors are looking to put their money these days.

Michigan’s economy and jobs are expected to continue to recover in 2022 from the deep downturn last year resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest coronavirus variant to emerge in a nearly two-year pandemic creates further uncertainty for the U.S. economy in 2022, although economists generally expect continued strong growth.

Auxo Investment Partners reached further into the rail industry with the acquisition of Ferrovia Services LLC, an Auburn, Ala.-based railroad vegetation management company.

Fox Motors has gained a foothold in the metro Detroit market by acquiring two longtime Farmington Hills-based dealerships.

Hiring a new business development director who’s based in Grand Rapids is part of Michigan Women Forward’s goal to build a larger West Michigan market presence for business lending and support for female-owned businesses and entrepreneurs of color.

GRAND RAPIDS — Michigan Capital Network has further expanded its angel investment network across the state with the addition of Saginaw-based BlueWater Angels.

DETROIT — Vertically integrated cannabis company Gage Growth Corp. has secured a $55 million senior secured term loan to support retail acquisitions in Michigan and provide working capital.

Individuals investing in Michigan-based businesses could seek a credit on the state’s income tax under legislation proposed in Lansing.

Given all that’s occurred in the past 20 months, Krista Flynn considers the present lending environment a pleasant surprise.

Borrowing could cost a little more in 2022 should the Federal Reserve follow expectations and begin raising interest rates.

A hot M&A market should get even hotter in the coming year, according to the results of law firm Dykema Gossett PLLC’s latest annual M&A outlook survey.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has joined 20 other governors in urging Congress to enact legislation that would enable more banks and credit unions to serve the growing cannabis industry.

The first managing director of a venture capital fund that plans to invest in businesses owned by people of color sees an opportunity to pioneer an initiative for greater economic diversity in West Michigan.

PETOSKEY — Mercantile Bank Corp. has expanded further in the northern Lower Peninsula with the opening of a lending office in Northern Michigan.

NORTON SHORES — Nichols Paper & Supply Co., a Norton Shores-based distributor of paper, industrial packaging and sanitary supplies, has been acquired by a New Jersey-based distributor with deep experience in food service packaging and janitorial supplies.

HOLLAND TWP. — Macatawa Bank Corp.’s third-quarter earnings grew slightly from a year earlier amid strong deposit growth.

GRAND RAPIDS — Independent Bank Corp. recorded lower third-quarter earnings from a year earlier, though year-to-date profits have grown by more than 28 percent.

GRAND RAPIDS — Private equity firm Auxo Investment Partners has entered the railroad business with the acquisition of maintenance company Genesis Rail Services LLC.

CrossLiner Inc. secured a $2 million venture capital investment in the third quarter that will help the company move closer to the marketplace with a new cardiac catheterization device.

GRAND RAPIDS — Mercantile Bank Corp. recorded strong loan growth in the third quarter with an earnings increase of more than 40 percent from a year earlier.

Some of the smallest banks in Michigan’s market recorded the biggest growth rates in deposits during a recent 12-month period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two recent exits involving portfolio companies create momentum for the investment arm of dental insurer Delta Dental of Michigan.

Local roads, fire departments, parks and development projects are just some of the ways that Michigan municipalities allowing retail recreational cannabis sales are spending their first yearly allocation of cannabis excise tax revenue.

ANN ARBOR — Michigan-based cannabis company Skymint Inc. has acquired 3Fifteen Cannabis in a deal that broadens the company’s position across the state.

GALESBURG — Indiana-based fiber optic provider MetroNet, which services clients across the U.S., announced on Wednesday that it has acquired Southwest Michigan-based fiber optic internet provider CTS Telecom Inc.

GRAND RAPIDS — Acrisure LLC has hired a new chief financial officer who comes from The Walt Disney Co. and will play a key role in helping the company grow beyond the core insurance business.

The path that Jeff Williams charted years ago was designed to ensure that Grand Wealth Management LLC continues well past his eventual retirement.

SPARTA — ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc. has raised $32.5 million in capital through a private placement of subordinate debt.