Small-group health insurers are requesting a median 14 percent premium increase for 2027, higher than last year's ask, and renewal packets start landing in September. Plus the September 15 deadline that catches owners with unclosed books, and how to time a Labor Day promotion for a shopper who now compares before buying.

Swipe fees hit a record 198 billion dollars last year, and the revised 38 billion dollar settlement gives merchants something more valuable than the interchange cut: the right to decline certain card categories and to surcharge. Also why attackers stopped hacking and started impersonating your suppliers, and how to audit the five AI tools the average small business now pays for.

Minutes from the July Federal Reserve meeting drop at 2 p.m. Eastern, and the three dissents wanting a hike make them worth reading. Plus the SBA rule change that now lets you stack 7(a) and 504 up to ten million dollars, and why this year's Jackson Hole theme is about the plumbing behind how you get paid.

Businesses with one to nine employees shed 14,400 jobs in July even as national job openings rose, while the NFIB optimism index hit a one-year high with 20 percent of owners planning to add staff. We reconcile the two, then look at the wage spread between people who stay and people who switch.

The fifty percent tariff on Canadian autos, alcohol, and dairy takes effect after midnight Wednesday, and two details decide whether it hits you: Customs charges on the entry date, and USMCA status will not save you. Also July retail sales, which fell for the first time since October, and what a new survey says about how widely the trade squeeze is being felt.

Back-to-school budgets are up almost 12%, but shoppers are trading down to Walmart and dollar stores even as they spend. We cover how to capture front-loaded July and August demand, how an independent competes when the comparison is all about price, and why a $71B income tailwind is about to reach your customers' pockets.

Attackers have shifted from breaking in to logging in with stolen passwords, and AI has made the bait frighteningly good. We cover the short security checklist every small shop needs, how AI crossed 50% adoption in small-business back offices, and why record-high card swipe fees mean it pays to re-shop your processor this week.

The July inflation report drops at 8:30 a.m. ET and could decide the Fed's September move. We explain what the core rate means for your costs, how the SBA just doubled its combined loan ceiling to $10M for capital-heavy trades, and why owners are raising prices at the fastest pace since 2023 without losing customers.

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index lands this morning. We cover what to look for in today's number, why small-business hiring plans just hit a three-year high even as jobs go unfilled, and how a likely September rate hike could raise your loan payment within weeks.

A 50% tariff on many Canadian goods takes effect August 19, applied the moment your shipment clears customs. We cover how to beat the deadline, why the Treasury's $100B tariff-refund pile may include money you're owed, and what year one of these tariffs actually cost the average small importer.