SMB News Round Up: Can the Big Banks Spur Job Creation, and the Obama Administration’s Efforts to Trim Joblessness in the SMB Sector

Every so often, we like to highlight some of the key stories that deal with the small business sector. As always, there is no shortage of news since the SMB sector is so vital to the health of our economy. Today, we feature a wide range of stories from the White House’s efforts to trim joblessness to an analysis of whether some of the larger banks will help spur job creation in the SMB sector.


Will Bank Of America, Wells Fargo, CitiGroup Lending To Small Businesses Spur Job Creation?
In 2010, lending to small businesses, from institutions like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and CitiGroup, is said to be the one way in which unemployment can be effectively combated. As governmental stimulus programs are said to be temporary and no real fix for unemployment, target a small section of workers, like state employees, or are not set to take place for years down the road, many are left wondering about what are the solutions for the now. Read the full blog post from the Red, White and Blue Press blog here.

White House Plans More to Trim Joblessness
President Barack Obama plans more economic stimulus measures to bring down the high U.S. unemployment rate, while cutting the bulging budget is a longer-term challenge, a top White House economic aide said on Sunday. "We are ... talking about actions right now to jump-start job creation," White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairwoman Christina Romer said on CNN's "State of the Union. "You don't get your budget deficit under control at a 10 percent unemployment rate," she said. Read the full Reuter’s story here.

8 Essentials to Succeeding With a New Business
Thanks to modern technology and the Internet, it's become relatively easy for just about any aspiring entrepreneur to start a business. In fact, it may be too easy, say small-business experts, considering that 86 percent of all small businesses fail within the first three years. If you want to avoid the same fate for your own start-up, you need to lay the proper foundation and groundwork. Read the full Newsday article here.

SBA Boost: Money Makes Loans Attractive to Both Lenders, Business Owners
The nation's financial meltdown in late 2008 has made it more difficult for small businesses to get loans, but millions of dollars in federal stimulus money has given small-business loans a boost in El Paso in recent months, some in the lending community said. The dollar volume for Small Business Administration-backed loans grew in El Paso last year in large part due to $375 million in stimulus money available nationwide to enhance lending features of SBA-backed loans, and has helped keep loan activity strong in the past several months, said Phillip Silva, director of the SBA's El Paso district office. Read the full El Paso Times article here.