New York SBDC Research Network

The Great Recession of 2008-2009 will be remembered for its severity—a cumulative decline of 4.2 percent in real GDP, the loss of 8.7 million jobs, and a harsh toll on the banking system with more than 400 bank failures from 2008 to 2011. The Great Recession should also be remembered for the massive increase in the federal budget deficit it spawned. As a percentage of GDP, the budget deficit reached 9.8 percent in fiscal year 2009, the highest since 1945 and the highest ever excluding the World War II period (Chart 1). Through another lens, the six-year cumulative deficit from 2008 to 2013 totaled almost 41 percent of GDP, well exceeding the total of about 26 percent for the six worst years of the Great Depression. Statistical Indicators of Business-Cycle Changes Like the proverbial double-edged sword, fiscal deficits can be both helpful and detrimental. The positive aspect is that the strong federal fiscal response likely helped initially to support the recovery. The negative side

In recognition of the third annual Manufacturing Day on Oct. 3, the Census Bureau releases an update of an infographic highlighting a wide range of statistics pertaining to the manufacturing sector of the economy. Topics explored include manufacturing employment and payroll compared with other sectors, production by specific manufacturing industries, and state-level statistics. Internet address: < http://www.census.gov/how/ infographics/manufacturing_ 2014.html >.

From petapixel : While browsing through my image search results on PIXSY (a new service that finds and invoices image theft for you), I was surprised to see my picture for sale on Etsy (above). My immediate reaction: 1. What an ugly mousepad. I’d never print my photo like this. 2. The seller seems to be stealing thousands of photos. How could Etsy let this happen? 3. Who had the nerve to think they could do this? So my picture was the party and I wasn't invited. I decided to see what I could do to notify the seller and contact Etsy about the problem. What did I find out? Etsy is selling thousands of stolen photos and doesn’t seem to care. Their system lets sellers hide their contact information, and Etsy will not disclose the identities of sellers stealing work even after being presented with clear evidence.

More than one-third of consumers (37%) say they most often abandon an online shopping cart because they decide at the last minute that the purchase is too expensive, according to a recent report from Offers.com. The second most common reason for not completing an online purchase is finding a better price on another website. Just 20% say they almost always purchase the items they put in their online shopping carts. Read more from MarketingProfs

Badly tracked finances can cause your business a world of problems—from poor cash flow to improper tax filings and beyond. These kinds of problems can put a young business at serious risk. Good bookkeeping habits, on the other hand, can help a business thrive—and not just survive. Dallas-based financial writer and founder of Careful Cents, Carrie Smith, shared her advice on what good bookkeeping means for entrepreneurs, and the good habits to adopt that will guide your business to success. MORE from BPlans.com

For those who track trends, this is the most important time of the year. It's when we get a status update on the economic well-being of the nation's households. The Census Bureau releases the latest income data from the Current Population Survey. The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the latest spending data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey. An added bonus this year is the Federal Reserve Board's release of findings from the triennial Survey of Consumer Finances. All three surveys tell the same story: the average American is still struggling to recover from the Great Recession. Median Household Income Has Stalled The $51,939 median household income of 2013 was not significantly different from the $51,758 of 2012, after adjusting for inflation. This is the second year in a row of no significant change in median household income, according to the Census Bureau , following two years of decline. Median household income in 2013 was 8.0 percent below the median o

From SmallBusinessNewz : Far too often I see business owners and entrepreneurs just getting started that simply don’t value what they do enough because they don’t have the validation that comes with landing high-paying clients. In short, in an effort to gain some traction and some exposure, they give everything away freely, or worse, get talked into doing things for people that don’t value what’s being given. Here’s the deal though – everything you do has some value and you simply must start thinking this way if you even expect to rise above a meager existence. You must start to think about how to exchange value for everything you do. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are times when you determine to do someone a favor or support a cause or mission with no thought of being paid for your time – that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about that instance when someone – often able to pay – wants you to provide a service for free or for a discount. Or that event that promises