Lowering high levels of unemployment and inequality are amongst the largest challenges facing South Africa.

Small Business Sentiment in Japan decreased to -15 in the first quarter of 2020 from -9 in the fourth quarter of 2019. Small Business Sentiment in Japan averaged -6.94 from 1967 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 46 in the third quarter of 1973 and a record low of -60 in the fourth quarter of 1998. Tankan Business Conditions Small Manufacturing Enterprises Diffusion Index is based on the survey of approximately 220,000 private enterprises (excluding financial institutions) with at least 20 million yen in capital. The survey is done by mail or e-mail and asks participants to evaluate current trends and conditions in the business place and their respective industries as well as their expected business activities for the next quarter and year. The indicator is calculated by subtracting the percentage share of enterprises responding on the negative side from the share giving positive assessments. The index varies on a scale of -100 to 100 such that a value above zero indicates business optimism, a value below zero pessimism and 0 indicates neutrality. This page provides - Japan Small Business Sentiment- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Small Business Sentiment in Australia decreased to -4.93 in the first quarter of 2020 from -3.76 in the fourth quarter of 2019. Small Business Sentiment in Australia averaged 1.11 from 2006 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 18.55 in the first quarter of 2007 and a record low of -21.17 in the fourth quarter of 2008. The NAB quarterly survey of business confidence measures the expectations of business conditions for the next 3 months among small firms with an annual turnover of AUD 2-3 Million. The survey is a simple average of trading, profitability and employment indices, reported by respondents for their company. The indices are calculated by taking the difference between the percentage of respondents nominating good or very good, or a rise and those nominating poor or very poor, or a fall. This page provides the latest reported value for - Australia Small Business Sentiment - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Small Business Sentiment in Brazil decreased to 34.90 in April from 60.10 in March of 2020. Small Business Sentiment in Brazil averaged 52.21 from 2010 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 65.40 in January of 2010 and a record low of 34.50 in October of 2015. This page provides the latest reported value for - Brazil Small Business Sentiment - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Small Business Sentiment in the United Kingdom decreased to -84 in the second quarter of 2020 from 36 in the first quarter of 2020. Small Business Sentiment in the United Kingdom averaged -4.79 from 1978 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 40 in the second quarter of 1983 and a record low of -84 in the second quarter of 2020. In the United Kingdom, the Small Business Sentiment measures measures the expectations of business conditions for companies with up to 199 employees. The Questionnaire accesses the overall sentiment regarding general and export business situation, investment, capacity, order books, employment, output, stocks, prices competitiveness regarding domestic, EU and non-EU markets and innovation and training. For each assessment is computed a sub-index as the percentage of positive answers minus the percentage of negative answers. The composite index is then computed as the weighted average of the sub-indices. An Optimism Index of +100 indicates that all survey respondents are much more confident about future prospects, while -100 suggests that all survey respondents are much less confident about future prospects. An index level of 0 indicates neutrality. This page provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Small Business Sentiment - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Claer Barrett wants to hear readers’ experiences of accessing business interruption loans

Your chance to grill FT experts on the government’s rescue measures for small businesses

English companies with shared offices excluded from coronavirus rescue package

Behind the Money is a podcast from the Financial Times that takes listeners inside the business and financial stories of the moment, with reporting from FT journalists around the world. You can find Behind the Money wherever you get your podcasts, including FT.com/behindthemoney.

Mauren Pereira's drapery business was on track for its most financially successful year to date. That was until the coronavirus outbreak reached Virginia. Behind the Money reports on how one small business owner is navigating the current economic crisis. With Brendan Greeley, US economics editor for the Financial Times. 

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Behind the Money is a podcast from the Financial Times that takes listeners inside the business and financial stories of the moment, with reporting from FT journalists around the world. You can find Behind the Money wherever you get your podcasts, including FT.com/behindthemoney.

The Trump administration’s small business bailout programme has been plagued by problems from the start, with complaints that large companies crowded out the kinds of small enterprises and independent contractors it was designed to help. With a fresh round of funding on offer from Washington, we hear from several business owners trying to get their share, as well as the FT’s Laura Noonan who has been reporting on the programme since it launched. 

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Laura Noonan and Lauren Fedor respond to your queries on the state of SBA rescue funds

Readers say they fall between the cracks of government support schemes

Legislation cuts taxes for some enterprises while increasing VAT

FCA warns failure to act could count against provider’s regulatory record

In today’s news: UK warns it would be ‘irresponsible’ to discuss easing lockdown. Spain sets out plan to lift its own tough measures. Donald Trump signals a halt to his daily media briefings as US death toll accelerates.

Countingup, the business current account that “automates” your accounting, has raised £4 million in self-described bridge funding. Leading the round is ING Ventures, with co-investment from Triple Point, CVentures, and BiG Start Ventures. Founded by Tim Fouracre, who previously founded cloud accounting software Clear Books, and now boasting 20,000 business customers, Countingup’s long term vision […]

The chancellor need beware that policies introduced in a crisis are hard to end later

Even though Rohit Prakash was a dual MD and PhD researching optogenetics at Stanford University, his entrepreneurial itch kept returning him to his family’s small business roots. He and his co-founder Nipul Patel began researching the travails of small business owners, interviewing countless entrepreneurs, trying to figure out what their risks were or what caused […]

Fintech companies have been lobbying for weeks to be able to participate in the U.S. government’s emergency lending program for small businesses. Now those efforts have paid off, as PayPal, Intuit and Square have all been approved to participate in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program, which provides aid in the form […]

Australian small businesses can unlock an additional $49.2 billion in output over the next ten years by making better use of existing technology, PwC analysis commissioned by Google released today shows.

Countingup, the business current account that “automates” your accounting, has raised £4 million in self-described bridge funding. Leading the round is ING Ventures, with co-investment from Triple Point, CVentures, and BiG Start Ventures. Founded by Tim Fouracre, who previously founded cloud accounting software Clear Books, and now boasting 20,000 business customers, Countingup’s long term vision […]

Oklahoma begins a multi-phase reopening of state businesses on Friday.Small business owners are feeling the pressure of unpaid bills — and the risk of infection — as they await government loans and support funds."Everyone is cautious about opening," one small business owner told Business Insider.Another said: "I want to go back to work tomorrow. I'm tired of this."Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.Small-business owner Sandra Dickson faces a seemingly impossible choice.A massage therapist in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Dickson is among the 20.6% of Americans who are jobless. She opened a beauty and wellness spa just weeks before the coronavirus pandemic. It's been shut down for at least as long as it was open. In that time, Dickson has "received no income," she told Business Insider.

President Trump signed into law a $484 billion coronavirus relief bill that includes another $310 billion in funds designed to provide relief to small businesses.The Small Business Administration will resume accepting loan applications through the Paycheck Protection Program on April 27.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.President Donald Trump signed into law a $484 billion coronavirus relief bill on April 24.The bill includes $310 billion in new funds for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was put in place to provide aid for small businesses.According to a statement released by Jovita Carranza, administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the SBA will begin accepting PPP loan applications again on Monday, April

US banks earned $10 billion in two weeks processing the loans from the government scheme to protect small businesses from financial ruin during the coronavirus crisis, according to an NPR report.The rescue plan worth $349 billion offered businesses loans of up to $10 million to thousands of US companies and were guaranteed by the federal Small Business Administration.The banks charged a transaction fee of 5% on loans worth less than $350,000, while on loans worth between $2 million - $10 million, the cost was 1%.The banks defended the massive windfall of loan transaction fees, saying that processing the loans involved complicated vetting procedures.Treasury Department guidelines are less rigorous than for regular loans, and the taxpayer provides the funding, so there is little risk for the

The US government added a second round of $310 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). But small business owners who haven't applied for PPP loans yet, may be too late to receive any funding. Bankers, lawyers, and consultants said the volume of already approved loans will be enough to tap out the second round of funding.If you don't get government loans and funding, there are still a few other options available to small businesses.Click here for more BI Prime content.If you were hoping to get your loan application into the second round of stimulus funding for small businesses, the chances are stacked against you. But you could turn to tax relief or private companies, local governments, and organizations offering grants and resources to small businesses hurt by the pandemic.Late last

Christina Stembel founded her floral company, Farmgirl Flowers, in her dining room in 2010, using her personal savings and a cash-back credit card to cover business expenses.The company has since blossomed into a thriving startup that employed almost 200 staff members prior to the coronavirus.However, as the pandemic causes economic fallout worldwide, Stembel told Business Insider that the future of her company is uncertain.She said the process of applying for the first round of the Paycheck Protection Program, a government fund meant to help small businesses through the coronavirus pandemic, was frustrating and fruitless."I know that the intention of this program is to help small businesses, so let's change it to make sure this money does fall into the hands of small businesses," she said.Visit

The Paycheck Protection Program is a key component of the federal government's response to the economic devastation caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.After the initial $350 billion allocated for the small business loans at the heart of the program was exhausted in just two weeks, Congress appropriated an additional $320 billion in funding.A recent Small Business Administration report shows where that second round of funding has gone so far.While the first round largely went to more rural states on a per-capita basis, much of the $175 billion from the second round that was dispersed as of May 1 has gone to larger, harder-hit states.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.The novel coronavirus has ravaged the US economy, with more than 33 million Americans filing for unemployment

Getty ImagesAll of the PPP loan funds have been committed, but new Fed-backed loans could help some businesses come back after the crisis.Less than two weeks after launch, all of the $349 billion allocated to small businesses in the CARES Act has been committed.Lending could now come to a grinding halt as banks won't have the guarantee of the US Treasury to back up more loans.Business owners who still need financing greater than $1 million can take advantage of the Federal Reserve's Main Street Lending program, which will support additional loans from banks.The Fed's program backs four-year loans with payments and interest deferred for the first year.Visit BI Prime for more stories.Just 12 days after the launch of the Payroll Protection Program, all $350 billion in loans have been approved,

A few weeks before Monty Bennett's companies received the sum, he hired Jeff Miller, former vice chairman of Trump's inaugural committee, and Roy Bailey, a re-election campaign fundraiser.

Mitch McConnell wants to have another round of small business bailouts on the Senate floor by Thursday in an expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program.

Donald Trump blamed Democrats for 'killing' small businesses as the $350 billion paycheck protection fund ran dry Thursday morning.

Entrepreneur Andy Yates shares his tips for small businesses to adapt, innovate and come through the coronavirus crisis - and what some of the firms he is working with are doing.

George Osborne did not address problems such as low levels of investment, lack of access to finance, and high energy costs.

The Autumn Statement contained some good news for entrepreneurs as George Osborne pledged to carry on exempting micro companies from paying business rates.

The Flat Rate Scheme for VAT, designed to cut bills and red tape for small firms, is being overhauled in a measure the Chancellor said would stem abuse of the scheme.

Steven Mnuchin said that a deal for small business relief could be reached within Democrats as early as Sunday night as he continues negotiations with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.

COVID-19: Facebook to give USD 100 million in cash grants, ad credits to small businesses

VanRysdam, Peter, 1978-

Woessner, Stephen, 1972-

In 2014, consumer shopping behavior evolved rapidly. Shopping online and through mobile devices is the new norm, and the experience has become increasingly more social with platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. These platforms, in turn, have launched new commerce capabilities like the buy button.

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Social media is a crucial component of any small business marketing efforts. When done well, a strong social strategy helps you connect directly with your customers, and can even create some free publicity along the way.

For all of social media's advantages, there are pitfalls as well. The internet can look like a cavalier place when it comes to copyright rules, but there are plenty of no-nos that you need to follow if you want to stay out of legal trouble.

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Fink, Matthias

Gold loans for business purposes are mostly used by small businesses as short-term working capital for stocking. With gold prices hovering around Rs 47,000 per 10 gm, small businesses will need to take loans to resume operations, said industry executives.

Barrera, Susan

Fotopulos, Dawn

Zacker, Craig