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The clock's striking midnight on some federal pandemic relief loans for small businesses

Mar 22, 2023
Businesses that received some federal pandemic loans could defer paying for two years, meaning most are coming due this year.
A small business owner fills out an online form for pandemic financial aid. Payments for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program are due this year.
Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

Holding excess inventory keeps getting pricier for this manufacturer

As the global supply chain smooths out its kinks, warehouse costs are top of mind for the Legacy Companies.
For large manufacturers, storing excess inventory means paying growing warehouse fees.
Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

Extra fees have conquered the airline industry. But there may be fewer going forward.

Feb 22, 2023
Customer and airlines like them better than higher airfares.
United Airlines moved recently to ease some of its fees after President Biden criticized the industry's fee practices in his State of the Union address.
Getty Images

Valentine's Day chocolate sales were strong ... but it'd be helpful if you shopped earlier

Feb 17, 2023
"It's fun but it's difficult to know how much to make when everyone comes in on the same day," said Kristin Thalheimer Bingham, co-owner of Dean's Sweets in Portland, Maine.
Courtesy Melissa Mullen Photography

A 118-year-old department store perseveres in a tenuous economy

Feb 17, 2023
How a department store more than a century old has survived two pandemics, the Great Depression, and multiple recessions.
Dunham's Department Store in Wellsboro, PA. Ann Dunham Rawson, whose great-grandparents opened Dunham's, said the store is doing well despite wider economic anxiety.
Courtesy Ann Dunham Rawson

The retail sector sees signs of a cautious consumer

Feb 13, 2023
Most executives predict that consumers will continue to be more selective this year.
Consumers could adopt more cautious habits as they feel more economic stress, some analysts say.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Disney “leans in” to existing franchises

Feb 9, 2023
Because if people liked a "Frozen 2," wouldn’t they like a "Frozen 3?"
Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Business inventories are finally rebounding, a sign of a healing supply chain

Feb 8, 2023
In January, business inventories expanded. That's a positive sign about the economy's health.
The January Logistics Managers Index found that businesses expanded their inventories, which is a good sign about the health of the economy.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Businesses keep close watch on Blinken China visit

Feb 3, 2023
U.S.-China tensions have put Chinese businesses on edge.
Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, is expected to meet with senior Chinese leaders in a visit that could set the tone for the wider U.S.-China relationship.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

How New Year's resolutions boost the wellness business

Jan 31, 2023
Lots of people make New Year's resolutions about wellness, but how does that affect businesses?
Companies peddling wellness can experience a boost in sales after the holiday season as people implement their New Year's resolutions.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images