Small Business
Start-up to bring test-drive cars to buyers, avoiding dealership
DETROIT - A new company hopes to make the car-buying process easier for consumers and more efficient for dealers by bringing cars to buyers for test drives, avoiding the need to spend hours at a dealership.
Small business confidence hits one-year high in May
WASHINGTON - Small business optimism rose to a one year-high in May, a hopeful sign for an economy that has hit a soft patch.
Europe's SMEs need more public sector support: report
LONDON - Europe's cash-starved small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need more public sector help, as there is little appetite among private investors to step in and fill the gap left by retrenching banks, a major study has found.
Small businesses cut jobs in May: NFIB
WASHINGTON - Small businesses cut back on staff slightly in May, the first decline in six months and a sign of weakness in the job market recovery.
Online demand boosts market for rarest books, expert says
HAY-ON-WYE, Wales - Prices of the rarest books are rising as the Internet drives the trade off dusty shelves and into the digital age, a leading expert said this weekend.
France clips wings of 'chick' entrepreneurs
PARIS - France trimmed tax breaks and other advantages for small entrepreneurs on Wednesday, saying the benefits introduced under former President Nicolas Sarkozy had failed to help business start-ups and were open to abuse.
Start-up tries tapping market of uninsured dental patients
SAN FRANCISCO - While many healthcare startups are hoping the new healthcare law going into effect next year will help drive more business their way, dental network Brighter believes being left out of the law will help it more.
Yelp open to partnering with Facebook's rival offering: CFO
- Consumer review aggregator Yelp Inc, which analysts say could face intense competition from Facebook Inc's "graph search", is open to partnering with the social networking website's latest offering, Yelp's Chief Financial Officer Rob Krolik told Reuters.
ECB seen aiding small-business financing: Van Rompuy
ROME - The European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank will likely present a plan to improve financing to small- and medium-sized companies before the next European Union summit, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said on Friday.
IBM to buy website hosting service SoftLayer
- International Business Machines said on Tuesday it would acquire Web hosting company SoftLayer Technologies and create a new division for clients interested in so-called cloud services, a move to better compete with larger rivals in the space.
Q & A with Joel Jackson, founder of Mobius Motors
Weeks ago the Global Post profiled an interesting startup in Africa called Mobius Motors that is working to manufacture affordable ($6,000) cars in Africa that are designed for Africans. By simplifying the designs through the elimination of non-essential parts like windows and air conditioning, the team at Mobius is able to drastically reduce the cost of the vehicle. Reuters reached Mobius' founder Joel Jackson over email to ask him about how his plans for the car company and some of the challenges he foresees.
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