NFIB

If pessimism among small business owners is any indicator, the U.S. economy has not merely derailed. It has hurtled over a cliff and lies in smoking ruins at the bottom of a deep ravine. more

The political action committee of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) launched nearly $1 million in TV ads against Democratic Senate candidates Al Franken in Minnesota and Rep. Tom Allen in Maine this week. more

U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings was shopping at a Safeway supermarket in Baltimore on Tuesday, Sept. 30, when an elderly woman stopped him. She was frightened, she said, because her daughter had called to tell her that her retirement account was in danger. more

A $700 billion economic rescue package approved this week by Senate and House lawmakers will help free up credit for small-business owners, along with their customers, suppliers and vendors, business group say. more

The fate of an emergency economic rescue plan remains uncertain this morning as the House prepares for a climactic midday vote, but both Democratic and Republican leaders say they are optimistic that they can marshal more support for the $700 billion bailout than they did last Monday. more

Some small companies say they are no longer able to get loans from newly cautious banks as credit tightens across the country, and even those who do qualify are increasingly reluctant to borrow and expand, fearful of overextending themselves in the midst of the financial crisis. more

Is the Treasury Dept.?s on-again, off-again $700 billion rescue package for the financial markets really on-again, this time around? Throughout Wednesday, optimism was growing around Washington that the revived bill, which will now include expanded insurance for bank deposits as well as some long stalled business tax breaks, would readily pass the Senate when it goes up for a vote tonight. more

No wonder Americans aren't happy about the ideas being considered to resolve the deepening financial crisis. The task is to choose among bad options ? and to do so in a hurry. more

The House of Representatives defeated the White House's historic $700 billion financial-rescue package -- a stunning turn of events that sent the stock market into a tailspin and added to concerns that the U.S. faces a prolonged recession if the legislation isn't revived. more

With the eyes of the world glued to this year's presidential campaigns, it's easy for local election issues to escape the public's radar. But entrepreneurs need to be tuned in because the results usually have an immediate impact on their businesses and the communities surrounding them. more

The New Deal it is not. The government's biggest economic bailout since the Great Depression is aimed not at relieving unemployment or reforming questionable business practices, but at resuscitating financial markets debilitated by lousy bets on the housing market. more

Banks throughout the United States carried on with the business of making loans yesterday even as federal officials warned again that their industry is on the verge of collapse, suggesting that the overheated language on Capitol Hill may not reflect the reality on many Main Streets. more

The Bush administration's top economic leaders told Capitol Hill this week that the U.S. economy faces a widespread meltdown unless Congress quickly passes a rescue plan for the financial system. more

Even as Washington and Wall Street debate the best way to avert an economic disaster, increasing numbers of Americans are struggling with another financial crisis: the growing burden of unpaid medical bills. more

Jody Hall considers herself lucky to be able to offer health insurance to the 55 employees of her two Seattle coffeehouses, Vérité Coffee and Cupcake Royale. But she may not be able to afford it much longer. more