The Fed just raised interest rates by another 0.75%, putting Main Street economy ‘dangerously close’ to edge of lending cliff

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in Washington, July 27, 2022. Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters The Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates by 0.75%, or 75 basis points, for the third-consecutive time at the Federal Open Market Committee…

Small businesses are still desperate for workers even as other companies slow hiring

While some companies have slowed the pace of hiring due to concerns about an economic slowdown, the demand from small businesses for new workers has not yet shown signs of declining, Paychex CEO Marty Mucci said. “We’re still not really seeing any strong recessionary measures here for small business,” Mucci said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box”…

Secret Service returns $286 million in fraudulent pandemic loans to the Small Business Administration

A secret service agent. Julia Nikhinson | AP The U.S. Secret Service returned $286 million in fraudulently obtained pandemic aid loans to the Small Business Administration, the agency announced Friday. The funds sent back to the SBA were obtained via the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program using both fabricated information and stolen identities. The…

Consumer cash flow is about to grow again, and that could be key to avoiding a recession

Customers shop at a Walmart in Houston on Aug. 4, 2021. Brandon Bell | Getty Images After a year-long dip, household cash flow will begin growing again right after Christmas, and accelerate through the new year, according to new research by analysts at Goldman Sachs. These gains will reverse a year of negative growth of…

Why Mark Zuckerberg’s other big bet, outside the metaverse, is Whatsapp for business

In this article META Facebook’s new rebrand logo Meta is seen on smartpone in front of displayed logo of Facebook, Messenger, Intagram, Whatsapp and Oculus in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. Dado Ruvic | Reuters WhatsApp is already widely popular with U.S. consumers. Now Meta Platforms is turning more attention to building its…

The lesson for Main Street from the Walmart, Target inventory failures

Filip Radwanski | Lightrocket | Getty Images The retail battle narrative over the past few decades has cited one of two wars: Amazon and e-commerce against the big bricks-and-mortar retailers, and everybody big against small Main Street entrepreneurs. But in the current confusing economic environment — marked by inflation, supply chain bottlenecks and a volatile…

The Fed disagrees, but Main Street says ‘the recession is already here.’

Fg Trade | E+ | Getty Images Small business confidence has hit an all-time low as the majority of Main Street expects runaway inflation and a Federal Reserve that is incapable of engineering a soft landing for the economy. In fact, the majority of small business owners (57%) taking part in the CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business…

Self-made millionaire Bethenny Frankel on why good ideas are not enough to be successful in business

Photo: Bethenny Frankel “I truthfully didn’t even know the word entrepreneur. I was in my late thirties, and I didn’t know the word ‘brand,’ I didn’t know the word ‘entrepreneur,’” Bethenny Frankel, founder of SkinnyGirl, told Sharon Epperson at the CNBC Small Business Playbook virtual summit on Wednesday. Now, just over a decade later, Frankel…

How to conserve cash, cut spending as business owner during a recession

Damircudic | E+ | Getty Images With recessionary winds whirling, many small business owners have already cut back, but more trimming may be needed to weather the economic storm that’s brewing. U.S. economic growth fell 0.9% in the second quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on Thursday, the second consecutive quarter of negative GDP….

The Federal Reserve just raised interest rates 75 basis points. Here’s what it means for the Main Street economy

The U.S. Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to a range of 1.5%-1.75% in June — the biggest increase since 1994. Fed Chair Jerome Powell (above) flagged there could be another rate hike in July. Mary F. Calvert | Reuters The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rates by 75…

Main Street lands record $154 billion in federal contracts, but fewer small businesses benefit

DENVER, COLORADO – MAY 3: Seen through the window of Maria Empanada on South Broadway, Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Guzman does an interview with a local television station on May 3, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. Rj Sangosti/medianews Group/the Denver Post Via Getty Images | Denver Post | Getty Images The federal government awarded $154.2…

The 8 best options for small business funding

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – APRIL 28: Deanna Sison takes a break from preparing preordered lunches to check the status of her federal small business loan application at Little Skillet restaurant in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. Most Covid financial relief to small business has now ended, but the need for more funding…