The number of small U.S. companies not turning a profit has reached an unfortunate historic high due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Financial Times reports. The Russell 2000 index shows 42 percent of small-caps are either just breaking even or operating a loss. The number...
The nonprofit Opportunity Fund — which makes loans to small businesses owned by low- and moderate-income immigrants, women and other underserved clientele — started 2020 fairly optimistically. The organization expected to make close to $10 million in loans every month, serving 3,000 to 4,000 small-...
Amid the social unrest dominating the country at the moment, will small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) face crippling losses tied to looting? Landlords mandate that business tenants carry basic liability insurance. But it’s up to the individual small business owners to decide how much coverage...
Try comparing the numbers of the COVID-19 economic asteroid hit to anything that came before, and it quickly becomes apparent that there is no apt comparison. Just under nine million Americans lost their jobs during the Great Recession of 2008, and it took about two...
Not all that long ago, we were hoarding toilet paper and flour — eyeing the proverbial rainy day when we’d need what we’d saved, as the coronavirus upended daily life. The same uncertainty, to hold onto what we’ve got while facing a hazy future, is...
Congress adopted the $600 billion-plus Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help American small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) stay afloat by using forgiveness loans to keep their workers employed and cover certain overhead expenses while the economy was shut down. But while generally regarded as a...
For the small shops and independently owned restaurants that line America’s Main Streets from coast to coast, the past eight weeks have been a difficult time leading toward an incredibly uncertain future. Forced to close their doors by stay-at-home orders, the majority of small- to...
Following the frantic dash among small businesses for a portion of the government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding, small businesses were faced with some difficult hurdles. Marred by regulatory confusion, claims of unfair lending and borrowing, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s first case of alleged...
Most businesses have been hit hard by the global pandemic, but perhaps no segment has been more crippled or left with a future more uncertain than the Main Street local establishments that rely on daily sales for traffic. Whether they happen to be a restaurant or boutique, they...
