Small Business Blog

Articles related to: recession

Charles M Cooper

Unemployment and Consumer Spend Highlight Stimulus Policy Failures

We keep hearing Washington tell us that the recession is coming to an end, citing signs of wonder but always with the caveat that the economy could still get worse, and a look at unemployment, retail sales and the opinions of corporate CFOs—who have to work with the economy every day—assures us that it will.

Tags: small business, sales, stimulus, obama, congress, recession

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Posted: 8/13/2009 | Comments (0)

Charles M Cooper

Credit Card Overhaul Passes Senate

The US Senate has passed sweeping credit card legislation aimed at reining in an industry that most Americans love to hate. The question is, however, what will the industry do in response?

Tags: small business, credit cards, recession, senate

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Posted: 5/19/2009 | Comments (2)

Charles M Cooper

Pulling into Their Shell: Advanta Shuts Down New Credit Purchases

Advanta, the small business credit card company, is going to extremes to protect itself during these economic hard times. If you have one of their cards, you won’t be able to use it by mid-June. What does that mean for you and is this a harbinger of things to come?

Tags: small business, advanta, credit cards, recession

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Posted: 5/18/2009 | Comments (0)

Charles M Cooper

Hire American

The media has been talking about the Buy American provisions in the much-debated stimulus bill, but there is similar issue under debate in the Halls of Congress, the 1-HB Guest Worker visa issue. The question is this: As American unemployment continues to break records, is there still a place for foreign workers in America? Is it now time to Hire American?

Tags: small business, economy, recession, guest workers, h-1b visa

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Posted: 2/6/2009 | Comments (37)

Charles M Cooper

Buy American

Buy American! That is what is being debated in the halls of the Senate this week. What they seek is a balance between the needs of the global economy and the stimulation of the American economy and the future of small exporters could well hang in the balance. Is it more important to keep the global markets in mind or to build wealth here at home by buying American?

Tags: small business, global trade, balance of trade, import, export, economy, recession

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Posted: 2/5/2009 | Comments (2)

Charles M Cooper

Recession-proof Your Business

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke climbed Capital Hill on Wednesday with some bad news. "It now appears likely that gross domestic product (GDP) will not grow much, if at all, over the first half of 2008 and could even contract slightly." By one definition of the word, six consecutive months of decline in the GDP (the value of all goods and services produced in the United States) constitutes a recession. What can you do to protect your business? Read on.

Tags: recession, fed, gdp

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Posted: 4/3/2008 | Comments (1)