Business news in brief
By The Associated Press
Small business owners see 2024 as a ‘make or break’ year
NEW YORK | About 40% of small business owners think 2024 will be a “make or break” year for their business, according to a survey by messaging service Slack.
After several years of dealing with the pandemic, rising inflation and a tight job market, some small businesses — 32% of respondents — aren’t sure they’ll make it through 2024.
Still, others are feeling optimistic about the future. Seventy-one percent of respondents said they are optimistic about the state of their business this year. But many are still facing tough issues like a volatile economy, a polarizing election on the horizon and declining sales.
In fact, 38% of small business owners said they’re more worried about their business as they enter 2024 than they were as 2023 started. And only 26% are less worried.
U.S. casinos won $66.5B in 2023
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. | America’s commercial casinos won $66.5 billion from gamblers in 2023, the industry’s best year ever, according to figures released by its national trade association Tuesday.
The American Gaming Association said that total was 10% higher than in 2022, which itself was a record-setting year.
When revenue figures from tribal-owned casinos are released separately later this year, they are expected to show that overall casino gambling brought in close to $110 billion to U.S. casino operators in 2023.
That all happened in a year in which inflation, while receding, still kept things like grocery and energy costs higher than they had been.
China cuts key interest rate
BANGKOK | China’s central bank has cut its five-year loan prime rate while leaving its one-year rate unchanged. It was the first time the five-year rate, which is a benchmark for mortgage rates, was cut since May.
The five year rate was lowered by 0.25 basis points to 3.95% while the one-year rate remains at 3.45%. There was scant immediate reaction in markets to the decision, with the Shanghai Composite index remaining nearly unchanged by midday Tuesday.
As markets reopened after a weeklong Lunar New Year holiday break, state-owned banks announced a flurry of plans for billions of dollars worth of loans to support developers struggling after a crackdown on excessive borrowing.
—From AP reports
