Article Abstract:
Statistics show that the number of start-up small businesses fell by 33% from 4.5 million in 1995 to 3.1 million in 1998. The decline, which occurred during the greatest economic boom in US history, is attributed to the unwillingness of people to risk their job security. Other contributing factors arising from a booming economy are the lack of skilled workers, higher rents and fiercer competition with bigger firms.
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Article Abstract:
A number of hotels are providing promotions in which they offer to help travelers defray their gasoline expenses. The hotels are offering the promotions to encourage travelers to make trips and go on vacations despite the huge increase in gasoline prices. LaPlaya Resort in Naples, FL, deducts the cost of gas from guests' bills when they present a receipt. Twenty bed-and-breakfast inns in Vermont are offering $10 or $20 vouchers that can be downloaded from a Web site and redeemed at gas stations.
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Article Abstract:
The latest year-to-date Labor Dept report on the US consumer price index has alarmed the bond market. The report found that the overall consumer price index had risen to 2.8% as of Oct 1999, confirming that inflation has already reached the 2%-3% range. Bond traders fear that steadily increasing crude oil prices could further fuel inflation and believe that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates after Jan 1, 2000, after having already raised them for the third time in the year on Nov 16, 1999.
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