Australia's central bank skipped its monthly interest rate meeting Tuesday as expected, despite the economic downturn, as a new survey revealed business confidence was stuck at record lows.

The credit freeze afflicting America's small businesses shows no signs of thawing. In the last three months of 2008, the Small Business Administration's flagship loan-guarantee program backed less than half the number of loans it approved a year earlier - a sign that fewer entrepreneurs are getting financing to start or expand their ventures.

President-elect Barack Obama's proposed stimulus package would provide businesses with billions of dollars in refunds on taxes they paid several years ago. The refunds are popular among business groups and could increase pressure on Republicans to support Obama's massive stimulus package, even though most of them are wary of government spending increases that could send its total cost to $800 ...

Amid a huge state budget shortfall, business groups are seeking changes in the state's tax structure that includes permanently repealing a property tax that's set to return this fall.

By BILL MILLER A man with multiple stab wounds was rushed by ambulance early Tuesday from a business at the intersection of East Lancaster Avenue and Collard Street in Fort Worth, according to reports. The incident was reported at 6:54 a.m. at the business which may be a store, according to initial police reports. The man was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital, a dispatcher for MedStar ...

This week the media are a-squabble over the death rattles coming from the book publishing industry. Yes, it's in dire condition. But a new business model might bring readers back. Call it the Free Lunch model. An article in The Wall Street Journal ...

President-elect Barack Obama's proposed stimulus package would provide businesses with billions of dollars in refunds on taxes they paid several years ago. The refunds are popular among business groups and could increase pressure on Republicans to support...

Lubrizol Corp., the world's biggest maker of lubricant additives, acquired Dow Chemical Co.'s thermoplastic polyurethane business for an undisclosed price.