MAIN STREET

An official investigates the scene on Saturday, May 14, 2022, where a 9-year-old boy was fatally shot inside an apartment building in the 4700 block of Main Street in Skokie. A 6-year-old boy was also shot and suffered a graze wound, according to police. Andrew Johnston/Chicago Tribune

The stock market may not literally be the economy, but the distinction between the two is getting increasingly harder to draw.

Eight in ten small business owners across the U.S. tell CNBC that they expect the economy to enter a recession this year.

A majority of small business owners support more relief from the government, according to the CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey. Don't count on it.

Government Finance Officers Association Recognizes City of Buda for Financial Reporting[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

While job gains are being seen across the U.S., small business owners say that the hiring environment is not getting better and it's hard to find good workers.

Starting this week, the masks are coming off for vaccinated visitors to Walt Disney World in Florida.

A theme-park comeback continued to help Disney’s results recover in the most recent quarter.

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner will attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the grand opening of The Ion.

Most retail investors are buying the most basic call and put options, which have a much lower probability of profit than advanced strategies like spreads.

As the tourism industry bounces back from COVID-19, Miami is one of the top search destinations on several travel websites.

Many independent small businesses are still struggling to recover from the pandemic. Here's how shoppers can support them this holiday season.

Participants like the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies were in the holiday spirit as they stepped off for the Waukesha Christmas Parade.

Concertgoers who lost their belongings after Friday night’s chaotic scene at Astroworld Festival can retrieve them at NRG Park.

About 9,000 New York City municipal workers were put on unpaid leave for refusing to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate that took effect Monday and thousands of city firefighters have called out sick in an apparent protest over the requirement.

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Walt Disney World shared more details Friday about the all-new nighttime show coming to Magic Kingdom for the 50th anniversary celebration.

Authorities are investigating after a pedestrian was reportedly hit Sunday night by a METRORail train in downtown Houston, officials said.

The blaze engulfed everything in its path, charring homes and businesses beyond recognition.

Authorities have not offered any further information on this incident.

The U.S. economy is sparking confusion and whiplash almost as fast as it’s adding jobs.

With nearly a dozen wineries inside its city limits, Fredericksburg offers plenty of locales for imbibing during a weekend getaway.

The monthly events, which have been sidelined because of COVID-19, return June 3, but with different alcohol guidelines in place.

ByHidalgo County municipalities are reporting flooded roads, street closures and traffic signal outages related to Wednesday’s storm. McALLEN>> Main Street and Trenton Road>> Ware Road and Frontage>> Nolana Avenue and Jackson>> 29th Street and Vine AvenueMcAllen is reporting flooded roads and closed streets at:>> Second Street and Wichita Avenue, southbound>> 12th Street and Quamasia Avenue, north and eastbound>> 12th Street and Redbud, eastbound>> 11th Street and Shasta Avenue, southbound>> 11th Street and Redbud Avenue, southboundMISSIONMission is reporting traffic signals out at:>> Conway and Tom Landry>> Mayberry and Business 83>> Conway and Business 83>> Los Ebanos and 495>> Shary and 495Mission is reporting road closures at:>> Between La Lomita and First Street>> West Business 83 from Walsh to Los Ebanos>> Dunlap from Tom Landry to 13th>> Conway and FirstEDINBURGEdinburg is reporting road closures at:>> 12th to 14th on Cano>> Mcyntire and 107>> Tori Lane from Joy to McKee>> Ninth Street from Fay to Samano>> 12th Street from Mahl to Cano>> Sprague from Sugar to Samano>> Van week to 107 on FifthEdinburg is reporting traffic signals out at:>> McColl and sprague>> Closner and Sprague

The Ion is scheduled to open in the fall.

The Ion is scheduled to open in the fall.

Some states are making plans to spend billions of dollars from President Joe Biden's pandemic relief act, though the money has yet to arrive.

Small business owners see economic improvement coming, but politics, inflation, and taxes are weighing on Main Street confidence.

Disneyland has reopened after a 13-month closure.

Police said Brandon Elliot, 38, is the man seen on surveillance video kicking and stomping the woman near Times Square on Monday. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the attack “absolutely disgusting and outrageous” and said it was “absolutely unacceptable” that witnesses didn’t help the woman. Two lobby workers, described by their union as doormen, were seen on video witnessing the attack but failing to help Kari. This year in New York City, there have been 33 hate crimes with an Asian victim as of Sunday, police said. Joo Han, the deputy director of the Asian American Federation, called the plainclothes patrols a “knee-jerk response” that ignored misgivings she said many people in Asian communities have about law enforcement.

It looks like Main Street is poised to get in on an investment that's been largely off-limits: initial public offerings. While the move may broaden who can participate in these offerings, experts say it won't change the risk that comes with IPOs. "Don't let excitement get in the way of making sure the investment you're making is a smart one." Before any new stock reaches the market, investment banks — which generally underwrite IPOs — sell shares that end up in the hands of select investors. Everyone else must wait until shares start trading through a market like the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.

But it's part of a longer-term trend, with Wall Street bonuses surging 1,217% since 1985, or about 10 times the pace for minimum wage workers during the same stretch. In 1985, a minimum wage worker earned about $7,000 annually, while Wall Street bonuses were about twice that, at $14,000 on average. Anderson said her analysis starts in 1985 because that's the earliest year for which she could find data on Wall Street bonuses. "In limbo"To be sure, it's not only Wall Street workers who have profited during the pandemic. For instance, about 63% of all securities industry employees are men, but only 33% of minimum wage workers are men.

That was down from nearly $21 million the previous day and as much as $50 million from last week, when GameStop's shares peaked at $483 each. The brokerage statement that the former MassMutual financial adviser posted on Tuesday night on Reddit showed a cash balance of nearly $13 million. Many average investors who rushed into GameStop's stock and cheered each other on in the WallStreetBets Reddit forum are unlikely to have notched such outsized profits. GameStop shares were up slightly on Wednesday to just over $93 as of midday. On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Mudrick Capital, a $3 billion hedge fund, made nearly $200 million betting the shares of AMC and GameStop would rise last month.

That was down from nearly $21 million the previous day and as much as $50 million from last week, when GameStop's shares peaked at $483 each. The brokerage statement that the former MassMutual financial adviser posted on Tuesday night on Reddit showed a cash balance of nearly $13 million. Many average investors who rushed into GameStop's stock and cheered each other on in the WallStreetBets Reddit forum are unlikely to have notched such outsized profits. GameStop shares were up slightly on Wednesday to just over $93 as of midday. On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Mudrick Capital, a $3 billion hedge fund, made nearly $200 million betting the shares of AMC and GameStop would rise last month.

Furthermore, President "Main Street" Biden is likely to direct most of those funds into the hands of consumers and small- and medium-sized businesses. For the past four years the single easiest trade in the market has been to buy "High Technology" and sell "Main Street". The long QQQ (Nasdaq) short IWM (Russell 2000) spread has been the best way to trade the market without being exposed to directional risk. But that trade has stalled and with President "Main Street" about to take the reins of power, it may be time to go the other way as Main Street may finally start to outperform high technology. Widely known as a leading foreign exchange expert, Boris has more than 20 years of financial market experience.

Biden's American Rescue Plan includes $15 billion in grants to help the hardest hit businesses and $35 billion for small business financing programs. She added, small business recovery is a vital part of the overall economic rebound. CEO David Reiling praised the Small Business Administration's decision to let community lenders lead the way this round. "Our goal is to ensure small businesses can continue to provide for their communities and their employees. Small business confidence dipped in December as Covid-19 cases surged and Main Street awaits the changing of the guard in D.C.

Holiday retail sales rose 8.3% from 2019, according to data released by the National Retail Federation on Friday, as consumers embraced the gift-giving season as a way to cheer themselves up during the Covid pandemic. The major retail trade group predicted in November that 2020 holiday sales would rise between 3.6% and 5.2% year over year, amounting to between $755.3 billion and $766.7 billion. Holiday sales on average have increased 3.5% for the past five years, and they rose 4% in 2019, the NRF said. So far, retailers' holiday results have seemed to mirror pandemic-related trends. Lululemon, which has seen strong sales in athleisure as people work from home, forecast fourth-quarter earnings at the top end of its expectations because of strong of a strong holiday season.

The market's view of silver linings ahead follows a year that including both a bull market and a bear market. Tesla shares further benefitted in December when the highly valued car company joined the 500-stock index that widely serves as the benchmark for the U.S. stock market. He cites a trend of individual investors as opposed to professional money managers getting into the market starting in November. Global stock markets closed out the year near record highs and the dollar holding at two-year lows. Commodity stocks — specifically oil, gas, agriculture and copper — continue to be favored by Boockvar, who also likes "precious metals, bank stocks, value stocks that technology and Amazon haven't killed off, some travel and leisure names, emerging Asian stock markets, and the U.K. and Turkey, too."

Since the middle of November, the entire region has returned to levels similar to those seen in October. Governors have used the declining numbers to justify their divergent approaches to fighting the pandemic, even jousting at times. As the pandemic crept into communities across the Midwest, more people had loved ones, friends or acquaintances fall ill or die. Many health experts warned that the region was ripe for widespread infections, especially as the weather cooled and people gathered inside, making it easier for the coronavirus to spread. Other experts say some pockets of people, such as those who work in meatpacking plants where infections were widespread, had experienced such high rates of infections that the virus has slowed.

Marceliano Pinkney was last seen on Dec. 15 leaving the Greyhound bus station in Main Street and Gray Street in the downtown area. HOUSTON – Authorities issues an update Thursday that Marceliano Pinkney had been found safe. Marceliano Pinkney was last seen on Dec. 15 leaving the Greyhound bus station in Main Street and Gray Street in the downtown area. They described him as a Black or Black Hispanic with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Houston Police Patrol at 713-884-3131 and or the Houston Police Missing Persons Division at 832-394-1840.

More than 150 million Americans are planning to shop on the final Saturday before Christmas, up slightly from 147.8 million in 2019, according to a survey released Thursday by the National Retail Federation. The number of expected shoppers on the day, which is known as "Super Saturday," includes those planning to shop in stores and buy online, NRF said. Last year, Super Saturday fell just four days before Christmas, but this year it's nearly a week before the holiday. Its survey also found that of those people planning to shop on Super Saturday this year, 42% are planning to do so online only, avoiding crowded malls and stores. Sixty-six percent of holiday shoppers will likely shop in the week immediately after Christmas, NRF found.

The Alley's holiday cash cow is, of course, Dickens' evergreen A Christmas Carol. Six actors play all the roles, and in the first installment, James Belcher was as crotchety a Scrooge as you could want, and Chip Simmons a very haunted Marley. Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberly continues through December 13) and The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberly is scheduled for December 18-20 at Main Street Theater. Register for free at mainstreettheater.comA Christmas Carol. YouTube.com/ctchoustonA Christmas Carol.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's decision not to extend funding for the Federal Reserve's Main Street Lending Facility after Dec. 31 already looks to be cutting into lending, according to bankers involved with the program. As a result of Mnuchin's decision, the Fed announced in late November it would not accept new applications after Dec. 14. So Mnuchin's decision effectively ended the program right there and then for some banks and borrowers. "We've been averaging about four or five calls a day from good companies, but we've had to turn them away," said Dan Yates, CEO of Endeavor Bank in Carlsbad, California, which had completed 20 Main Street loans. It had approved 42 Main Street loans worth $463 million as of last week.

The most economically sensitive parts of the market are accelerating skyward, credit markets are drum tight, the tape is inured to bad Covid news and investors are ardently (too ardently?) In recent remarks to Congress he granted that if things break right there could be "upside risk" to growth for a while next year but it wouldn't change his stance. This would be a stark "upside risk," though not the sort Jay Powell meant. None of this precludes further gains – a market that stays overbought is often a sign of a powerful, persistent uptrend. Still, this stretched sentiment backdrop lowers the threshold for the magnitude of surprise that could prompt a shakeout.

New York Stock Exchange building is seen decorated for Christmas at the Financial District in New York City, United States on November 30, 2020. Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesIt's absolutely time to revisit the Wall Street versus Main Street argument that has ebbed and flowed through the course of the pandemic-induced economic lockdown, the subsequent recovery and where we are today. I have said repeatedly on CNBC that, for the first time in my 36-year career, I care a great deal less about what happens on Wall Street than what IS happening on Main Street. Further, recent data show the pace of Main Street business failures accelerating. Multiplied across 50 states and the pain will continue to hurt Main Street far more than Wall Street, since the public financial markets have no active discounting mechanism for the success or failure of small, private shops.

"We're in the biggest stock picker's market that I've seen in 10 years." Stock pickers are the group to watch in this market, Andrew McOrmond, managing director of ETF trading solutions at WallachBeth Capital, said in the same "ETF Edge" interview. "We're in the biggest stock picker's market that I've seen in 10 years," McOrmond said. Because stock pickers tend to invest based on themes, that means "thematic ETFs are going to grow," he said. Global Jets ETF (JETS), which tracks airline stocks, have grown from $34 million to $2.7 billion, and its outstanding shares have climbed from 2 million to 120 million.

Main Street confidence dropped again this quarter — the second setback this year and also only the second substantial decrease in the nearly four years since the start of the quarterly CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Confidence Survey. From the very first quarterly survey, which coincided with the first full month of the Trump presidency, political partisanship has been an underlying driver of the rosy outlook on Main Street. It was also the first time that Republicans' score fell below 50. For business leaders, accommodating those changes can be a challenge; for small business owners in particular, doing so can be a real threat. Small business owners' forward-looking expectations, rather than their assessments of the current business climate, are what has changed the most as a result of the election.

Last week, City Council approved the More Space Main Street project, which would close sections of Main Street in downtown, allowing bars and restaurants to spread outdoors and into the street. But, it is also an idea a long time coming, which we have advocated for repeatedly in this space for years: Close Main Street in downtown for good. And there are some great reasons for this new closure to make way for an even more ambitious plan to shut the brick-lined street down to cars permanently. LocalCommunityJournalismI Support Support the independent voice of Houston and help keep the future of Houston Press free. Imagine what the transformation to Main Street would do for the city's urban core.

Cabaret tunes, Bollywood dance numbers, and a Choir of Man are just a few of the things you can enjoy this week. Following the chilling performances of Things That Go Bump in the Night, Main Street at the Mic is back with Cabaret & Cocktails. Cabaret & Cocktails will premiere tonight, November 19, at 7:30 p.m. on YouTube, and will be available on demand through the weekend. The virtual, evening-length program will showcase the best performances of previous years, featuring contemporary Indian, Bollywood fusion, hip hop and folk dance, in four acts. If you guessed Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay’s 2017 breakout hit The Choir of Man, you’re in for a treat.

Stefani Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesTime is running out for millions of small business owners on Main Street. They also need to know the tax consequences that await them if they apply for loan forgiveness by year-end. Guidance from the Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration on this critical issue has not come yet. To date, 5.5 million small business owners received PPP funding. To date, 40,000 companies have applied for a package and 12,000 filed for loan forgiveness.

There's no doubt that Main Street under this program is going to benefit," Jones said on "Squawk Box." I think under a blue wave, and the Biden tax plan, financial assets over the long run suffer a great deal," he said. "There's an inverse relationship — it's loose but it's clearly there — between stocks multiples and capital gains tax," he added. His campaign has proposed taxing long-term capital gains at the ordinary income tax rate of 39.6% on income above $1 million. "I think the Biden tax plan is actually going to do exactly what it's designed to do, which is to help Main Street, help the average American," Jones said.

HOUSTON – A 30-year-old Houston woman at the center of a citywide search has been found safe, her family said Tuesday. Officers said Aravia White was last seen leaving the 2100 block of Main Street in an unknown direction of travel Monday. She has since been found. White’s family did not disclose her whereabouts.

Investor Kevin O'Leary knows firsthand the challenges entrepreneurs on Main Street are facing during the coronavirus pandemic. "Twenty percent of the small private companies in my portfolio are going to fail," he said on CNBC's Halftime Report. To date, PPP has provided 5.2 million loans worth $525 billion to American small businesses supporting more than 51 million jobs. The "Shark Tank" investor said he believes that the companies face a difficult road ahead as a result of changing behavior of consumers. In addition to investing in successful companies via ABC's "Shark Tank," O'Leary founded businesses including O'Shares ETFs, O'Leary Financial Group and O'Leary Wines.

As talks in Washington, D.C. over a new round of financial and economic stimulus continue, Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturer and small business advisor David Dodson doesn't like what he sees on Main Street or for the U.S. economy. It's make-or-break," for small retailers, he said. Dodson explained that while politicians argue over financial and economic relief, retailers need to be making key decisions on inventory. Instead, Dodson sees a situation that continues to let business owners down. ... Over time, household insolvencies and business bankruptcies would rise."

The Leuthold Group's Jim Paulsen considers Wall Street pessimism overdone. "A lot of good things happening here as we enter the fourth quarter," Paulsen told CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Wednesday. When Wall Street and Main Street confidence levels have diverged historically, Paulsen contends it drives stocks higher. His bottom line: Take advantage of Wall Street pessimism while you still can. According to Paulsen, investors shouldn't delay putting new money to work and would be best served by targeting economically sensitive S&P groups.

The Houston area flaunts tons of streets and plenty of those have run-of-the-mill names you wouldn’t think twice about (e.g. Below we list nine neighborhoods in the area boasting an unusually large array of unusual street names. Street names throughout the enclave reference Ashley, Scarlett, her plantation, Tara, Ashley’s wife Melanie, raconteur and Scarlett’s love interest Rhett Butler and twin brothers Brett and Stuart Tarleton, with whom Scarlett occasionally flirts. Neighborhood: Twelve OaksStreet names: Scarlett Manor Court, Wilkes Park Road, Melanie Pointe, Rhett Butler Court, Tarlton Court, Butler Hill Court, Selznick ParkMusic to our earsA community in Livingston named its streets for famous musicians. Neighborhood: Eastex OaksStreet names: Pinetex Drive, Ashtex Drive, Willowtex Drive, Elmtex Drive, Pecantex Drive, Mosstex Drive, Peachtex Drive, Hickorytex Drive, Leatex Drive, Plumtex.

WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve has opened one of its lending programs to nonprofit groups, including hospitals, educational institutions, and social service organizations. The central bank needs to finalize the legal details before loans to nonprofits can be made. Under the program, banks make loans to borrowers that meet the Fed's criteria, and the central bank then purchases 95% of the loans to reduce the risk to the bank and enable it to engage in more lending. The Fed first proposed terms and criteria for nonprofits last month and adjusted them after receiving public feedback. Many potential business borrowers apparently find the program too complicated and are also struggling to locate participating banks.

HOUSTON The intersection of Main Street and Sunset Boulevard near Rice University has a history of dangerous accidents, especially for cyclists. In fact, a science professor at Rice University died in a crash in 2017 while cycling into work. These changes come after multiple calls for safer roads west of Hermann Park near Rice University by several local organizations. The Sunset Boulevard and Main Street intersection project is part of Mayor Turners safe streets initiative. New traffic signals are also underway to help with flow and the next phase includes testing those traffic lights.

Smaller companies, many of which have endured severe damage from the shutdowns forced by the coronavirus, might now find the Main Street program more appealing. Under the Main Street lending program, banks make loans to businesses; the Fed then buys the loans from the banks. Collectively, the changes suggest that the Fed might be having trouble attracting borrowers for the Main Street program. Chair Jerome Powell previously said the Main Street program would start making loans on June 1 or shortly after, but it has not yet done so. On Monday, the Fed said the program would start registering banks soon and will then buy loans shortly afterwards.

The National Federation of Independent Business reports that 80% of small business owners surveyed applied for a PPP loan, and of those who applied 90% received funding. Borrowers report requirements are challenging to either comply with or to meet in order to qualify for maximum loan forgiveness. Nearly three-fourths of small business borrowers find the terms and conditions of the PPP loan difficult to understand with 22% finding them very difficult," the report said. These changes also align with conditions on the ground," said Karen Kerrigan, president and CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. "A one-size-fits-all PPP program does not work things have changed tremendously since the design of the program in early to mid-March."

The Main Street program, announced in March, is expected to begin operations by June 1. That shortfall would likely boost demand for the Fed's Main Street program, Rosengren said. Despite its name, the Main Street program is geared for companies too large for the government's small business lending effort, known as the Paycheck Protection Program. In the interview, Rosengren said the Fed is willing to accept risks with the Main Street program and is prepared to lose money. If there turns out to be little demand for the Main Street program, Rosengren said, it's good news because it suggests that the economy is recovering.

Institutional Investor Hall of Famer Richard Bernstein sees a troubling market trend. He warns that the fear of missing out phenomenon is making a comeback despite the coronavirus' damage from Wall Street to Main Street. "Most investors, I would say, are once again becoming momentum investors," the CEO and CIO of Richard Bernstein Advisors told CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Monday. Bernstein, a CNBC contributor who has spent decades on Wall Street, entered 2020 in defensive mode. According to Bernstein, the bear market is in its early stages, and ignoring fundamentals will burn investors.

The experience small business owners have had applying for the $10,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance was worse. Only 3% of all small business owners surveyed were approved for such funding, and 16% are awaiting a response from a lender, the survey revealed. PPP loans are capped at $100,000 per employee and can range in size. "Many small business owners just didn't like the model and knew they could not abide by the rules," Kerrigan says. These companies serve millions of small business owners, many of whom are sole proprietorships and mom and pops.

Historic landmark in Midtown offers a look at what Main Street used to beThe exterior of the 80-year-old Isabella Court, a Spanish-style apartment building that has served as a hangout and haven for Houston's creative, bohemian crowd. The building was designed by the late Florida ... more Photo: Sharon Steinmann, Chronicle Photo: Sharon Steinmann, Chronicle Image 1 of / 53 Caption Close Historic landmark in Midtown offers a look at what Main Street used to be 1 / 53 Back to GalleryA historic Midtown building is finally on its way to becoming a protected landmark. According to Preservation Houston, the owners of residential building Isabella Court, 3913 Main Street, have formally requested the protected status for the 1929 Spanish Colonial Revival-style space. Among the people who call this space home is art dealer Arturo Palacios, whos resided at Isabella Court for nearly 10 years. Living at Isabella Court is a daily reminder of the power of great architecture, Palacios told Texas Monthly.

The Federal Reserve said Thursday it is expanding its Main Street lending program, opening it to businesses larger and broadening the types of loans that will be available. New and priority loans have a minimum size of $500,000, but expanded loans are for $10 million and up. Expanded loans are limited at $200 million or 35% of undrawn or outstanding debt, or six times EBITDA. The new loan option will now have banks assume 15% of the loan with the Fed assuming the rest. Some 2,200 individuals, businesses and nonprofits sent responses, prompting the Fed to expand the program's offerings as well as the size of the entities that would be eligible.

The Federal Reserve has reached out to investment and retail banks for feedback on its Main Street lending program ahead of its formal launch, according to people familiar with the matter. In addition to speaking to investment and retail banks, it has also talked to its reserve banks and received more than 2,200 pieces of feedback online. The Fed has said it will roll out more detailed guidelines pertaining to its Main Street program "soon," but not yet given an official time frame. Lael Brainard, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, is helping to lead the program, one of the people said. Yet her involvement in the Main Street program may help soothe some partisan tensions as there is heightened scrutiny of loans being given to larger companies.

Through no fault of their own, small businesses find themselves in uncertain times. This is where Main Street businesses can and should look to Main Street banks. We're not, in other words, a Wall Street Bank. In recent years, some have questioned if there was still a place in society for community banks. It's important for people in positions of power and influence to consider the network of smaller, local banks that serve small business.

Thousands of small businesses are probably gone for good because of the failure of the federal government to act quickly enough. To avoid catastrophic failure across large swaths of our small business economy, we need to quickly get a large number of small sums to a substantial portion of the 50 million small businesses and freelancers across America. If you include the 24.8 million businesses that are sole proprietorships, 98% of U.S. businesses employ fewer than 20 people. Don't make the mistake of thinking that because a business is small or a solo business, it isn't valuable or an economic driver. Drilling down on small business demographicsHere's another misunderstanding: America's small business owners aren't white males anymore.

First, they weathered the 2008 financial crisis brought about by reckless risk-taking in the financial sector. Now, they confront a much more severe economic calamity caused not by Wall Street's misbehavior but by a malicious virus. How to get a gripWhen an economic crisis hits, its instinctive response is to pump money into them. It can do this easily because, unlike us, big banks are allowed to have reserve accounts where the Fed can directly credit funds. The programs the Fed is trying to launch are administratively more cumbersome and have more conditions than the programs supporting large institutions.

Small businesses have applied for more than half of the $350 billion allotted for the Paycheck Protection Program and all the funds may be spoken for this week but the amount actually disbursed to businesses is lagging well behind. The "PPP," the Trump administration's centerpiece program to help small businesses weather the economic effects of the coronavirus, has approved 860,000 applications for $210 billion of loans through 4,500 lenders an accomplishment praised by many bankers. A senior administration official told CNBC that disbursement figures from banks to businesses were not yet available, despite repeated requests. Wilkinson and others say the banks lack a form that details what borrowers must do to gain loan forgiveness. And bankers also say they need details of the government's guarantee of the banks.

HOUSTON – The average cost of a gallon of gas in Houston on Monday was $3.40. But some stations around town sold regular gas for 21 cents less. The following three stations sold gas for less on Monday, according to www.GasBuddy.com. Circle T, Main Street near Williams Avenue in Baytown: $3.19Kroger, Fry Road near West Little York: $3.21Sam's Club, West Road near Northwest Freeway: $3.23More Information: