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| | Small Business News from 123Print |
| | Small Business News from 123Print > Business Banking News > Senate approves extension of SBA programs | | | | Senate approves extension of SBA programs | By PAULINE CROSS
Posted: 1/29/2010 6:35:24 PM | Today the United States Senate approved an extension of several Small Business Administration programs through April 30, 2010. Without the extension, programs like Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) would have expired.
"These research initiatives are vital to our country's competitiveness and to job creation, as about 20 percent of SBIR participants say they started their company in part because of a prospective SBIR award," says Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary L. Landrieu. "As we seek to improve the economy and create jobs, now is not the time to let these job-creating programs slip by the wayside."
Landrieu emphasizes the need for agencies and states to collaborate in the promotion of these programs, and to encourage entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists to apply. Their work will help the country "create cutting-edge innovations for our military and new advances in healthcare and alternative energy," says Landrieu.
SBA findings say that forty-one percent of the country's high-tech workers are employed at small firms, which generate 13 to 14 times more patents per employee than large firms.
President Obama's State of the Union address this Wednesday emphasized the importance of both small businesses and innovative development to the American economy.
Business banking news provided by 123Print.com – providers of high quality business cards, letterhead, vinyl banners and other business identity and marketing products at prices that let businesses keep more money in their bank accounts. |
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| | | | | | | | | | Related News | | | | President Obama signs new jobs bill | By CAROLINE FOSTER
Posted: 3/18/2010 7:26:32 PM | A new bill including $18 billion in tax breaks for small businesses and $20 billion worth of investments in highway and transit programs was recently signed into law this afternoon by President Barack Obama. The bill is the first of several jobs measures on the Democratic agenda for 2010.
While emphasizing that he and his party consider the bill essential, President Obama called it "by no means enough," the Associated Press reported.
There is widespread skepticism about the bill's potential to create new jobs. Estimates cited by the AP expect the creation of about 250,000 jobs by the end of the year, a relatively small number compared to the 8.4 million jobs lost at the start of the recession.
One skeptical group is the American Small Business League. President Lloyd Chapman called it "too little, too late." He claimed that in spite of the signing of the bill, the Obama administration will "allow over $400 million in federal small business funds to be diverted to large businesses today alone. This diversion has gone on every day that he has been in office, and apparently it's going to continue throughout the remainder of his presidency. Ending the diversion of federal small business contracts to large businesses would put more money into the middle class and create more jobs than anything President Obama or Congress have ever proposed."... |
| | Small businesses leading a wave of recovery | By EVELYN BRANDT
Posted: 3/17/2010 9:46:09 PM | Small business owners may still have skeptical attitudes about economic recovery, but reports from Automatic Data Processing, the world's largest payroll processor, show that they are actively preparing for it.
BusinessWeek recently reported that the company's sales of services to companies with fewer than 50 employees have increased since September. CEO Gary Butler calls it similar to the trend the company observed in 2002 and 2003, during the last recovery from a recession. It looked like "a return to better buoyancy, particularly in the low end of the marketplace," Butler told the magazine.
"It's a clear indication that small business is coming back" he added. "You don't put in a new HR system or payroll system if your business isn't going to grow."
Butler and ADP recently endorsed the HIRE Act passed by the U.S. Senate, which provides incentives for businesses to take on new employees. Butler called it "the right piece of legislation at the right time." The bill eliminates the Social Security tax for new hires, and offers an income tax credit of $1,000 per qualifying workers after a year of consistent employment... |
| | Merchants not expecting rapid recovery | By CARLOS ORTEGA
Posted: 3/12/2010 11:46:10 PM | According to business owner social network MerchantCircle, merchants are conflicted over the state of the economy. Though some are looking forward to recovery, the overall tone is one of caution.
The group recently released the second installment of its quarterly Merchant Confidence Index. Drawing on its member base, the survey collects the opinions of 12,000 local business owners. More businesses expect to add staff than to reduce staff, but numbers are still low... |
| | Senate releases details of Recovery Act extensions | By EVELYN BRANDT
Posted: 3/11/2010 10:34:06 PM | | Extensions to last year's Recovery Act increasing government guarantees and eliminating fees on small business loans recently passed as part of the American Workers, State and Business Relief Act - second in a set of bills that make up a large portion of the Senate's agenda in dealing with unemployment... |
| | Small business optimism dips in February | By PAULINE CROSS
Posted: 3/9/2010 5:40:22 PM | The economy may show signs of improvement, but small business owners aren't ready to celebrate. The National Federation of Independent Business Index of Small Business optimism for the month of February shows that business owners are skeptical about economic recovery, and are still facing challenges to financial stability.
The index dropped 1.3 points last month, back to the 88 percent reading it showed in December 2009. This makes the index seven points higher than last March's reading, the second-lowest in the index's history - 80.1 percent in 1980.
NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg said that much of the discontent may come down to widespread disapproval over the way the Obama administration has handled small businesses during the recession. Their agenda, he claims, "remains a nightmare for small business owners and continues to be a real factor in small business owners not expecting business conditions to improve."
Owners also reported that sales were poor, making it impossible to hire new employees and difficult to pay existing staff - the result was a reduction in average workforce size.
With sales on the decline, it may be no surprise that the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index decreased sharply in February, leaving it at 46 percent - a more than 10 percent decrease from January. Experts seem to agree that eventual recovery will be a long, difficult process... |
| | Large banks' small business lending plans clouded in ambiguity | By THOMAS GRANT
Posted: 3/9/2010 5:39:04 PM | With small businesses routinely identified as a driving force in economic recovery, and among the most affected by the economic crisis, large banks have been subjected to consistent pressure regarding their lending to small businesses - or lack thereof. In response to criticism, some banks are claiming they will increase their small business lending. Analysts, however, are skeptical.
According to the Associated Press, JPMorgan Chase has begun an ad campaign emphasizing plans to lend $10 billion to small businesses this year, up from $6 billion last year. Wells Fargo has promised a 25 percent increase to $16 billion in 2010, and Huntington Bancshares a 100 percent increase to $4 billion over the next three years.
However, these banks have not made clear how the lending will be carried out in any detail. Accounting law does not require disclosure of loans based on size or type of the borrower, the AP reports.
"[Banks] get to pick and choose what numbers they tell us without having to give any context," financial reported James Kwak told the AP. "It doesn't mean they are sinister, but their numbers will be hard to verify."
Reuters recently reported that Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke told a congressional committee that she believes banks are likely to increase small business lending in the coming year, describing the outlook as "somewhat optimistic."... |
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