Industry News – January 19, 2023

Consumer Economic Sentiment Continues Rising Per New Study 

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index rose to 64.6 in its preliminary January survey, up 8.2% since December. The rise is attributed to consumers feeling better about the economy due to lower gas prices and falling inflation. 

Source: Yahoo! Finance 

 

Aging Default Email Programs Poise Risk to Small Businesses 

Despite the popularity of legacy email programs such as Gmail and Microsoft Outlook, they still lack comprehensive cybersecurity features. Small businesses, that cannot afford outside cybersecurity support, may be at risk if these email programs are compromised. 

Source: CNBC.com 

 

Twitter Cuts Off Support for Several Third-Party Management Tools 

Twitter recently cut off access and support of several popular third-party management tools. The change results from the social media platform now wanting people to use only Twitter itself when writing and scheduling posts. 

Source: SocialMediaToday.com 

 

New Maryland Bill to Extend Health Care Benefits for Small Business Employees 

A recently introduced Maryland bill would create a special enrollment period for employees working at a small business that does not provide health care benefits. The bill, if passed, would make starting a new job a qualifying life event in the state for coverage. 

Source: StateofReform.com 

 

SBA Rural Ascent Program to Assist Women Entrepreneurs in New Mexico and Utah 

The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Utah District Office and New Mexico District Office will launch the SBA Ascent Rural Program. This new six-week e-learning program will help women entrepreneurs from those states as they learn from subject matter experts in leadership, marketing, finance, human resources, capital access and contracting. 

Source: ETVNews.com