Small Business News # 4
Unemployment Rate Reaches 10.2%
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. unemployment rate reached 10.2% in October. According to news sources, this is the first time unemployment rates have passed 10% since the Great Depression, which began in October of 1929 and lasted at least a decade.
Business Credit Card Rate Hikes
According to Gerri Detweiler, a financial education expert and co-founder of the website BusinessCreditSuccess.com, business credit card issuers are cutting credit lines, raising interest rates and even closing accounts, as stated on All Business.
A bill that was recently passed to amend the Consumer Credit Protection Act is most likely to blame for this phenomenon. This law only protects consumer credit cards and according to various sources, credit card issuers are trying to make up for losses via business credit cards.
Some small business owners have been forced to close their credit cards while others have had their lines cut. Still, other options, such as the business cash advance, exist for effected small business owners.
Top Five Books on Amazon in Small Business and Entrepreneurship as of November 6, 2009
- Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable (J-B Lencioni Series) by Patrick Lencioni
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferris
