small business

By PALLAVI GOGOI, AP Business Writer Since the credit crisis of 2008, everyone has been waiting for the banks to start lending money again. It's finally happening, but there's a catch: Businesses are afraid to spend it. Bank loans to businesses grew 10% last year after dropping 19% in 2009 and 9%...

Sometimes, small gestures can make huge differences in people's lives and livelihoods. That's the premise -- and the power -- of microlending. For proof, one need look no further than the stories of Marcia and Karen, two entrepreneurs in Costa Rica.

Seeking cooperation in a polarized climate, President Barack Obama called on Congress Tuesday to act quickly on bipartisan measures that would extend tax breaks for small businesses and help startup companies raise money. He said he would sign the legislation "right away."

Former President Bill Clinton offered up some wide-ranging prescriptions for curing the nation's ailing economy in a speech at the National Retail Federation's annual convention Monday, from investing in new sectors for job growth to cutting taxes on business.

Washington's efforts at financial reform keep having strange and unintended consequences. In response to a law that was meant to lower excessive debit card transaction fees on merchants, Visa and Mastercard found a way to raise the fees on a host of small businesses.

The Atlantic Ocean is wide, but maybe not wide enough. On Thursday, markets had a mixed reaction to the deepening economic crisis in Europe. Some sources reported that the European Central Bank would step in. But in the U.S., small business owners are growing nervous.

With U.S. unemployment continuing to top 9%, just having a job is enough to make many of us feel grateful. But one job isn't always enough. The new order of the day: combining two jobs to make a livable salary. Do you have the drive it takes to be a successful moonlighter or 'moonpreneur'?

The dream of Raphael Alvarez was to open a salon. His timing, it seemed, could hardly have been worse: Finding a loan was impossible, and his original location was snatched away. But Alvarez still managed to start his small business, without help from a big financial institution, in this desperate economy. Here's how he did it.

You may already be familiar with many of the independent retailers in your home town, but how do you find mom-and-pop shops when you're traveling? The 3/50 Project's new iPhone app might help. It links users to its directory of small businesses, so visitors can support the local economy.

As the creation of new jobs slows and layoffs continue, small businesses keep hiring. ADP is betting those companies will continue to buck the trend. It's setting up new services to capitalize on that growth.