Startup Missouri Information to fuel Missouri business startups

Even as coronavirus deaths soar, a growing number of restaurants in states across the country are reopening in defiance of strict COVID-19 rules.

The Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department are preparing to revive the PPP five months after its first two rounds of funding ended.

Thousands of minority-owned small businesses were at the end of the line in the government’s coronavirus relief program as many struggled to find banks that would accept their applications or were disadvantaged by the terms of the program.

Hundreds of COVID-19-related negligence lawsuits have been filed across the country, with mom-and-pops most fearing the prospect of litigation that could put them under.

Many owners, especially those with small restaurants, worry their businesses might not make it through the winter after they've already burned through personal savings, forgone paychecks, taken out loans and run up credit card debt. That's in addition to slashing staff and hours.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged Congress to approve COVID-19 relief funds without further delay, though Democrats continued to attack a decision by Mnuchin to allow five Fed lending programs to expire during the pandemic.

Monopoly or not, small business owners’ biggest complaint about Google is that its advertising policies favor companies with big marketing budgets.

Prospects for more federal stimulus this year appear all but dead, clouding the future for the unemployed, for small businesses and for the economy as a whole.

Despite the challenges, some analysts say the pandemic has created a climate for businesses to flourish if they can distinguish themselves.

Gym owners are disinfecting equipment, requiring masks and installing ventilation equipment to lessen the risk of coronavirus spread. But many who used to work out several times a week aren't reassured.