Yahoo Small Business Advisor: News for Growing Businesses

New regional bank aims to grow Appalachian economy

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:47:19 -0400

Mike Hurley had a great opportunity: He could multiply sales and staff by converting his metal-stamping business from one that made brackets for the automotive industry into a top-tier supplier of satellite dishes to DirecTV.

Small business exports picking up, survey finds

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:02:48 -0400

Small business exports are rising as the economy gradually gains strength and companies find trading partners in a new mix of countries, according to a survey released Wednesday.

Small businesses are hiring again, but cautiously

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:45:27 -0400

Nina Vaca is interviewing job applicants at her staffing company again after putting hiring on hold at the end of last year.

Cheap translations, but not replacement for humans

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:08:37 -0400

An Israeli startup says it has come up with a way to overcome language barriers when conducting international business: an automated service that provides quick translations between English and seven other languages with nothing more than a telephone.

Small business owners more upbeat, still cautious

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:43:12 -0400

Small business owners grew a little more optimism about their companies and the economy during May, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Small business confidence hits one-year high in May

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:33:01 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Small business optimism rose to a one year-high in May, a hopeful sign for an economy that has hit a soft patch. The National Federation of Independent Business said on Tuesday its Small Business Optimism Index increased 2.3 points to 94.4 last month, the highest level since May last year. It was the second straight month of gains in the index. Eight of the index's 10 components advanced, but capital spending plans were unchanged and job creation plans dipped. ...

Klamath Tribes and feds exercise water rights

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:27:22 -0400

Tens of thousands of acres in Oregon's drought-stricken Klamath Basin will have to go without irrigation water this summer after the Klamath Tribes and the federal government exercised newly confirmed powers that put the tribes in the driver's seat over water use — a move ranchers fear will be economically disastrous.

Small businesses to get $1M in Twitter ad credits

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:34:24 -0400

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Twitter are creating a program to encourage small businesses to advertise on Twitter.

Small business gets new financial reporting system

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:28:34 -0400

A new financial reporting system for small businesses was introduced Monday, giving owners an alternative to the complex rules with which big corporations must comply.

Get Started: Small Business Week events online

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:16:54 -0400

SMALL BUSINESS HEARINGS

Government moves to wrap up gray wolf recovery

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 04:39:29 -0400

Federal officials are declaring victory in their four-decade campaign to rescue the gray wolf, a predator the government once considered a nuisance and tried to exterminate.

Obama proposes lifting Lower 48 wolf protections

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 19:15:28 -0400

The Obama administration on Friday proposed lifting most remaining federal protections for gray wolves across the Lower 48 states, a move that would end four decades of recovery efforts.

Rejected by stores, insole maker goes online

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:47:06 -0400

Getting Undercover Fox's height-boosting shoe inserts into stores was a tall order.

APNewsBreak: Plan lifts Lower 48 wolf protections

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:36:34 -0400

The Obama administration on Friday proposed lifting most remaining federal protections for gray wolves across the Lower 48 states, a move that would end four decades of recovery efforts but that some scientists said was premature.

Top NY court backs NYC livery street pickup rights

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 13:31:04 -0400

Two plans to add options for New York City taxi seekers got green lights from courts Thursday. The state's highest court OK'd allowing livery cab drivers to pick up passengers who hail them on streets in much of the city, while another court said smartphone apps could be used to summon yellow cabs for now.

SC gov signs bill boosting breweries' business

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 13:30:01 -0400

Visitors can now quaff a hefty brew while touring a brewery in South Carolina, and the people who make beer are celebrating.

IRS officials try to tame conference spending scandal

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:20:24 -0400

By Kim Dixon and Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Internal Revenue Service officials on Thursday tried to tame another scandal plaguing the agency, apologizing to lawmakers for a lavish 2010 conference in California that included an elaborate Star Trek spoof training video. "After I saw the production, I fully regretted it," said Faris Fink, the IRS small business commissioner who played the character Spock in the Star Trek parody that included a tax-themed skit. "It's embarrassing. ...

ECB cuts eurozone outlook as rate held at 0.5 pct

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 09:49:36 -0400

The European Central Bank has cut its growth forecast for the troubled euro area's economy, but said there were enough signs of improvement ahead that it did not need to cut interest rates.

How small businesses can avoid loan rejection

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 17:41:51 -0400

Thousands of stunned small business owners call Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. each week after they're turned down for a loan. Jeff Stibel, CEO of the business credit reporting company, has a message for them: Don't blame the bank.

News Summary: Small businesses pick up hiring pace

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:58:05 -0400

PICKING UP STEAM: Small businesses are slowly increasing the number of people they're hiring, according to reports this week. The payroll company ADP said Wednesday its small business customers added 58,000 jobs in May. Software maker Intuit said Tuesday its small business customers added 35,000 jobs.

Small businesses gradually pick up hiring pace

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:58:29 -0400

Small businesses are gradually picking up the pace of their hiring, according to reports this week.

ECB searches for ways to boost sagging eurozone

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:57:03 -0400

Europe's economy badly needs a push. The European Central Bank says it stands ready to help.

A biographical snapshot of Jeff Stibel

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 10:33:29 -0400

Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. CEO Jeff Stibel.

Small business owners need to check credit reports

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 10:25:13 -0400

Small business owners need to be savvy about their companies' credit reports, just as they need to keep an eye on their personal credit files.

Small business hiring pace rising, survey says

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 14:41:13 -0400

THEY HIRED: Small businesses added 35,000 workers in May, following an upwardly revised 35,000 in April, according to software maker Intuit. That's the highest growth since January 2012. Intuit's numbers come from data posted online by its customers.

Business owners favor nondiscrimination laws

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 05:02:30 -0400

A majority of small business owners support changing federal laws to prohibit employment discrimination against gay and transgender people, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Germany to help Spain with credit for growth, jobs

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 16:37:50 -0400

Germany is setting up a loan program for struggling small and medium-sized firms in Spain to boost growth and jobs in the crisis-hit southern European economy, according to a document obtained Monday.

Get Started: Small Business Week, online seminars

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 15:57:04 -0400

MAKE ME A MATCH

UK loans drop despite flagship credit program

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:39:17 -0400

British banks participating in a plan to boost credit to businesses offered fewer loans in the first quarter of the year, raising some doubts over the program's ability to help revive the weak economy.

News Summary: Small business borrowing up in April

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:55:28 -0400

BORROWING IS UP: Small businesses took out more loans and leases during April, the first increase in borrowing in 2013, according to the Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index.

Small business borrowings up for 1st time in 2013

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 11:05:31 -0400

Small businesses took out more loans and leases during April, the first increase in borrowing this year, according to an index released Wednesday.

Arab drive for reform seen shifting to slow lane

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 10:46:01 -0400

On a recent blustery night, with a sandstorm kicking up, Kuwait's own Arab Spring was playing out on a quiet road of villas and tall palms.

China's entrepreneurs expand global presence

Fri, 31 May 2013 11:46:39 -0400

The force behind China's biggest takeover of an American company is a 71-year-old meat-packing entrepreneur dubbed "China's Chief Butcher" by the press who built an empire on his country's voracious appetite for pork.

After pigeons, 'chicks' battle French entrepreneur rules

Fri, 31 May 2013 08:40:41 -0400

By Catherine Bremer PARIS (Reuters) - Seven months after a pressure group called "The Pigeons" forced the French government to scrap tax rises on entrepreneurs, a new movement called "The Chicks" is challenging plans to curb other advantages for the self-employed. The group, "Les Poussins" in French and backed by more than 20,000 online supporters in a matter of days, is up in arms over a Socialist government proposal to reduce to two years the time that self-employed people can claim the advantageous status of "auto-entrepreneur". ...

SKorea fosters startups as it seeks economic shift

Thu, 30 May 2013 12:51:36 -0400

Kwon Sunbeom's future was mapped out. Talented in math and science, he attended a specialized high school and majored in electronic engineering at a prestigious university. Lifetime employment at one of South Korea's towering conglomerates beckoned.

6 things small businesses should do this summer

Wed, 29 May 2013 18:37:41 -0400

Attention small business owners: It's time to get ready for the summertime slowdown.

Canadian commercial lending rises in first quarter: PayNet

Wed, 29 May 2013 13:50:18 -0400

By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Commercial borrowing by small and medium-sized businesses in Canada climbed in the first quarter, driven by robust domestic and global demand, a PayNet survey showed on Wednesday. PayNet, which tracks commercial financing for millions of North American small and medium-sized businesses, said its Canadian Business Lending Index rose to 194, the highest level since it was created in 2005. The index rose 4 percent in the first quarter from the fourth quarter and was up 29 percent year-over-year. ...

OECD cuts Russia, CEE growth outlook but sees pick-up coming

Wed, 29 May 2013 05:22:55 -0400

PARIS (Reuters) - The OECD further cut its growth outlook for most of central and eastern Europe and Russia on Wednesday but said a moderate turnaround in the economies was on the way thanks to expected improvement in the euro zone. The club of the world's most developed countries said inflation in Russia has probably peaked and would return to the central bank's target range. It called on Russia to set a longer-term inflation target to help anchor inflationary expectations and bring down long-term interest rates. ...

Small business owners offer health perks

Wed, 29 May 2013 00:03:14 -0400

Small business owners continue to struggle to provide traditional health care benefits to their workers, but some are providing other unusual perks, as an alternative, to help attract and retain employees.

Colorado marijuana regulations signed into law

Tue, 28 May 2013 19:00:33 -0400

A set of laws to govern how recreational marijuana should be grown, sold and taxed was signed into law Tuesday in Colorado, where Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper called the measures the state's best attempt to navigate the uncharted territory of legalized recreational pot.