Business Finance News

Small Business Finance News

At its core, business is all about managing monetary investment such that it generates profit for the investor. At a closer look, it involves a long process of getting capital, spending it for inventory, labor, manufacturing, etc., managing costs and getting the returns from the sale of products and services. Each of these is affected by economic and political forces that are developing everyday.

Don’t be the last to know the latest news about trends in small business financing, managing credit and cost.

  • Nvidia 3Q Earnings more than Double
    Microchip maker Nvidia Corp. on Thursday said its fiscal third quarter profit has reached $178 million, more than double its earning last year, driven by strong demand for its computer chips worldwide.

  • Sara Lee Cuts Sales Outlook on Forex
    Sara Lee Corp., which has reported a $217 million loss in its fiscal first quarter, has cut its full-year sales forecast for due to unfavorable currency exchange rates.

  • Anglo American Buys Controlling Stake in De Beers
    Mining giant Anglo American has taken over diamond producer De Beers after paying the Oppenheimer family, which has ruled over the company for 80 years, $5.1 billion for the 40 percent interest in the company.

  • News Corp Investor Urges Murdoch to Sell Newspaper Business
    The third largest investor at News Corp has urged media mogul and owner Rupert Murdoch to sell all newspaper business, which would allow the company to double the size of its buy-back plan.

  • McDonald's Posts $1.51B Profit in Q3
    The world's largest fast-food company McDonald's Corp. on Friday said its net income has reached more than $1.51 billion in the third quarter of this year on the back of higher global sales and new menu offerings.

  • Coca-Cola 3Q Profit Edges Up
    Coca-Cola Co., the world’s largest softdrink maker, said on Tuesday reported a slight increase in its third quarter profit driven by increase in sales and prices of its products worldwide.

  • Goldman To Buy Back Buffett’s Preferred Shares
    After the approval of the U.S. Federal Reserve, investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said that it would buy back some $5billion worth of preferred stocks from Warren Buffett, ending the “costly” deal that has helped the company surge past the financial crisis.

  • World’s Banks Welcomes New Basel Rules
    The Basel Committee, which is the regulator of world’s banking systems, has agreed on a new bank capital requirement of 7 percent, giving a sigh of relief to many financial institutions all over the globe.

  • Stronger Dollar Seen Following Robust Economic News
    A stronger dollar was seen following robust economic news, saying the dollar value was now pegged at 1.4613 against euro. Economists are now moving to see how the Federal Reserve will react to changes to curb the impending inflation.

  • Stonegate Bank Purchases Two Banks
    The Office of Thrift Supervision and Office of Financial Regulation in Florida closed Partners Bank and Hillcrest Bank respectively. FDIC received the banks and entered into purchase and assumption agreement together with Stonegate Bank. Stonegate bought two banks and took over all deposits and assets of both banks.

  • Wells Fargo Expands in Investment Banking
    When Wells Fargo & Co. bought Wachovia Corporation; they inherited its securities business, which they plan to expand today. The fourth-largest bank in the U.S. will also change the name of its securities unit from Wachovia securities to Wells Fargo Securities.

  • Territorial Savings Bank Goes to New Territory
    Territorial Savings Bank will be converted to a stock organization in order to raise additional capital as support for its internal growth through establishment of new branches and lending. They are expecting the initial public offering to be a huge success.

  • The Return of Barter Economy
    The U.S. dollar, which is considered as the currency of the world, is at an all-time low. And barter economy naturally arose as a means of economic exchange like in the ancient world. Today, several barter systems are in place alongside the replacement currencies operating in small rural villages or local city levels.

  • Teaching Financial Education to Teens
    You would be surprised to know that a Hollywood actor can be responsible enough to care about the financial education of America’s teens. His new show will teach success and reveal good money habits.

  • The Worst of Recession Over: Fed
    The Federal government said that the worst of recession is over following its success to keep credit flowing while providing financial aid to industries reeling from financial slowdown.

  • Economy Slightly Recovers
    United States President Barack Obama on Friday said that the country’s “beat-up economy” has showed signs of hope, but warned that remnants of the current economic crisis has caused serve stress to the nation and will require more work to turn the slump around.

  • Fed Tries to Revive Ailing Economy
    The Federal Reserve has renewed its plan to boost the ailing economy by purchasing mortgage-backed securities and government long-term debt. Meanwhile, the department will spend more than $300 billion to purchase government debts and another $750 billion to buy mortgage securities of government-backed mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

  • US Carmakers' Sales Rise, Japanese Posts Decline
    US automotive sales rose by nearly 8 percent or 9.86 million cars sold in March from 9.1 million in February, a far outcry from earlier prediction by Bloomberg analysts who said that US companies will only have a total sale of 8.8 million cars. Meanwhile, Japanese automakers post slumping revenue and weak demand.

  • Advertisement Revenue Slightly Increases on Internet
    Advertising revenue on the Internet increased by 10.6 percent or $23.4 billion last year in the United States. While this may be already an impressive result amid the ongoing crisis, experts said the growth rate is slower compared to initial prediction, adding that Internet business is facing flat growth in this year.

  • Soda Companies' Sales Decline
    As competition among beverage companies becomes tougher, Coca-Cola Co. and Pepsi Co. Inc. reported slumping sales and weak demand which started four years ago. Meanwhile, these two beverage giants are trying to boost its sales by employing different marketing and advertising strategies.

  • More Tax on Tobacco
    To generate more federal money, the government ordered the increase of tobacco tax that will take effect on Wednesday. According to a study, the soaring price of cigarettes has dramatically dropped the sales of this commodity from the market, a welcoming development from public health advocates.

  • Airline Expects $4.7 Billion Loss
    A new forecast said that airline industry from around the world will experience $4.7 billion loss this year in addition to the $8.5 billion profit decline in 2008. Meanwhile, experts said that airlines in South America, Europe, and Asia will be the most affected by the sharp profit decline.

  • Popular Jewelry Maker Posted Slumping Sales
    Because of the ongoing recession which forces people to stop buying dispensable and luxury products such as jewelry, popular jewelry maker Tiffany has posted 75 percent decline of sales in the fourth-quarter of 2008. To keep its finances afloat, the company said it will reduce its workforce up to 10 percent before the year ends.

  • Stimulus Plan for Banking Crisis Could Reach $1 Trillion
    In an effort to deal with the looming banking crisis, President Barack Obama and his allies are pushing for a new stimulus bill that will cost the Federal Reserve almost $1 trillion. With this stimulus money, the government is planning to purchase toxic assets of small businesses which are throttling the banking system.

  • TransUnion Reports More Borrowers Unable to Pay Auto Loans
    Auto delinquency rates rose nearly 9 percent in the fourth-quarter last year as more borrowers were unable to pay their debts on time, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion.

  • Congress Amends Executive Pay Limit
    With the ongoing financial crisis which left companies scurrying for government financial assistance, President Barack Obama proposed a salary limit for top executives of struggling firms. But because his proposal has loopholes, including the million-dollar bonuses to executives, Congress also limit such financial reward by requiring employers to give only a maximum of one-third of the amount of the executives’ annual salary.

  • Government Grants $30 Billion Stimulus Package to AIG
    After reporting its $60 billion fourth-quarter loss to the public, the American International Group (AIG) was granted by the federal government with $30 billion stimulus package that will prevent the possible meltdown of the company.

  • Recession Worse than Expected
    Experts failed to predict that the US economy will move towards recession at a faster rate as the Commerce Department released its latest finding which revealed that fourth quarter growth of 2008 declined by 6.2 percent which is worse than 1940’s Great Depression.

  • France Slides Towards Recession
    France, a country with seemingly strong economy, started to slide to global recession that greatly hit most industrial nations. With the economic downturn, France is now facing massive layoffs as the market industry trembles from the impact of recession while businesses continue to experience declining sales.

  • Foreclosures Decline in January 2009
    The number of homeowners facing foreclosure has declined by 10 percent in January. This outcome is a big improvement compared to last year when nearly 275,000 people were on the verge of losing their homes.

  • Fight Global Economic Recession
    With the ongoing global recession, the US government urged other nations to fight protectionism and to adopt constructive measures that will effectively boost the economy. On the other hand, President Barack Obama continues to discuss with Congress about the importance of passing the $838 billion worth of stimulus package.

  • Freddie Mac Announces New Policy Allowing People to Stay in their Foreclosed Homes
    The government-backed mortgage company Freddie Mac announced its new policy that will allow home owners to stay as renters in their houses despite foreclosure order. With this plan, it has been estimated that over 8,500 families facing foreclosure can stay in their homes.

  • Fed Policy to Revive Ailing Economy
    The Federal Reserve will continue to discuss solutions on how to revive the ailing economy which is still reeling from the credit-crunch and financial meltdown. One solution policy-makers have come up is by lowering interest rate almost to zero.

  • Unemployment Rate Rises Amidst Global Financial Crisis
    With the ongoing economic recession, millions of workers worldwide have already lost their jobs, and as experts believe that this crisis will be protracted and deep, more people are also facing lay offs.

  • Obama’s First 100 Days will Focus on Solving Economic Crisis
    President-elect Barack Obama will focus more on helping the US economy back on its track. After discussion with the Congress, Obama’s proposed stimulus bill reached $825 billion which will be used to provide financial aid to government programs and economic sectors greatly hit by the recession.

  • Dollar Weakens as Banks Experience Major Loss
    The US Dollar slid against major currencies on Friday as the country’s two biggest banks, Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc, experienced major losses in the fourth-quarter of 2008. With this alarming trend, analysts predicted that unemployment rate will rise and low consumer confidence will get worse.

  • Oil Price Reaches $35 Per Barrel Amidst Weak US Economy
    Oil price was down 2 cents from its midday price of $35.38 per barrel. This continuous decline of oil price is due to low consumer demand for this commodity as businesses halt its operation to cut costs. Meanwhile, experts remain pessimistic over the economic outlook for this year.

  • Authorities Warn Car Employees on Pension Funds
    Employees and retirees of car companies face a grim year as their pension funds may be cut if some manufacturers collapse due to slumping sales and demand. And as the country is expecting recession in midyear, this gloomy prediction may happen, affecting an estimated 1.3 million car employees.