BTW News Briefs

Small Business Owners Offer Opinions on Access to Credit

Ninety percent of small business owners nationwide agree that the availability of credit for small businesses is a problem, according to a recent survey conducted by the American Sustainable Business Council, the Main Street Alliance, and the Small Business Majority. This lack of access to credit makes it difficult for them to grow, hire, and help jumpstart the economy.

Among the poll’s other notable findings:

• 61 percent of small businesses agree that it’s harder to get a loan now than it was four years ago.
• 82 percent support tighter regulations on credit cards, including clearer disclosure of terms and interest rate caps.
• 90 percent of owners want community banks and credit unions to be permitted to lend more to small businesses, and more than three-fourths support providing incentives to community banks to boost their small business lending.

Small business owners were also surveyed about various provisions of the American Jobs Act. Respondents were supportive of proposals included in the plan, many of which are currently being considered by lawmakers. Download the entire report.

B&N Says It Won’t Sell Books From Amazon Publishing

Barnes & Noble announced this week that its stores will not sell books released by Amazon Publishing, as reported by the New York Times. The B&N statement came in response to the recent news that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) will publish adult titles from Amazon’s East Coast Group in print and distribute them in North America outside of the Amazon.com platform.

 “Barnes & Noble has made a decision not to stock Amazon published titles in our store showrooms,” Jaime Carey, the company’s chief merchandising officer, said in a statement. “Our decision is based on Amazon’s continued push for exclusivity with publishers, agents and the authors they represent. These exclusives have prohibited us from offering certain e-books to our customers. Their actions have undermined the industry as a whole and have prevented millions of customers from having access to content. It’s clear to us that Amazon has proven they would not be a good publishing partner to Barnes & Noble as they continue to pull content off the market for their own self interest.”

NRF Contest Encourages Retailers to Tell Their Story and “Win Big”

The National Retail Federation has launched a video contest to gather “the most creative, insightful, and thought-provoking retail stories in America that will demonstrate the opportunities in and the power of [retail] industry.” Store owners and staff who tell their retail story in a video no longer than two minutes have the chance to win $25,000.

Complete guidelines for video submissions, including themes and deadlines, can be found at retailmeansjobs.com/contest. First prize is $25,000; second is $15,000; and third is $10,000.