Recently added articles from Kiplinger Business Forecasts:

Plug-in Hybrid Cars Zooming Ahead.

Jun 26, 2008 ... Byline: Jim Ostroff Get ready to see the USA in your plug-in Chevrolet -- or your Saturn, Ford, Toyota or Mercedes. High gasoline prices have automakers fast-tracking development of fuel sipping vehicles that will allow most motorists to charge up at night from home, then ...

Small Business Set-Aside Reform More Likely.

Jun 20, 2008 ... Byline: Tosin Mfon Pressure to fix the small business set-aside program is mounting. Half the federal contracts designated for small businesses in 2005 and 2006, about $100 billion a year, went to big firms, including multinational corporations. That's according to documents the ...

Flood-Spawned Shipping Woes to Linger for Weeks.

Jun 20, 2008 ... Byline: Ed Maixner Businesses can expect shipping delays for weeks to come as flooding -- and more wet weather -- hinder rail, truck and barge operations in the Midwest. Uncle Sam is riding to the rescue with an initial $2.65-billion emergency aid package for flood ...

California Same-Sex Marriages May Affect Employers Elsewhere.

Jun 19, 2008 ... Byline: Martha Lynn Craver California's legalization of same-sex marriage will have implications far beyond the borders of that state. Unlike Massachusetts, the only other state that allows same-sex marriage, California has no residency requirement for folks who marry there ....

Declining Oil Prices Will Buoy the Economy.

Jun 18, 2008 ... Byline: Jerome Idaszak Our view of the economy isn't as gloomy as that of many others, who see the situation continuing to worsen, based largely on the belief that oil prices will stay high. We, on the other hand, expect oil prices to decline by the end of the year, helping to ...

Nonprofits' Tax Exemptions Increasingly Under Fire.

Jun 17, 2008 ... Byline: Peter Blank, Joan Pryde Tax breaks for nonprofit groups are facing heightened scrutiny from all levels of government because of concerns that some exempt organizations are primarily moneymaking operations that don't live up to the purposes for which they received their ...

State Finances: Budget Pressures Will Crimp Spending.

Jun 16, 2008 ... Byline: Richard Sammon Many states are about to go into belt-tightening mode, cutting spending and searching for new revenue to deal with a bleak budget outlook that's likely to last two to three years. Half the states are grappling with shortfalls, and most of the remaining ...

Surge in May Jobless Rate Underscores Weak Economy.

Jun 06, 2008 ... Byline: Jerome Idaszak A big jump in the jobless rate in May to 5.5% confirms a weak economy. The rate is the highest since October 2004, leaping from 5% the previous month and suggests sluggish economic growth -- at best -- the next several months. The economy also ...

Catching On: A New Way to Pay for Worker Training.

Jun 06, 2008 ... Byline: Jonathan Crawford Employers are increasingly offering to set up education savings plans and match workers' contributions. These programs offer employers a new way to help finance an employee's classes or training to upgrade skills without bearing the entire cost, ...

Coming Soon: Stepped-Up Tax Audits of Small Firms.

Jun 04, 2008 ... Byline: Joan Pryde Small business owners should brace for more audits by the Internal Revenue Service on several fronts. It has been no secret that the IRS is conducting more examinations of small businesses because it thinks they are a big reason for the tax gap -- the ...

For Barack Obama, A New Chapter and New Challenges.

Jun 04, 2008 ... Byline: Richard Sammon The presidential campaign landscape shifted unalterably and historically last night, as Illinois Sen. Barack Obama claimed the Democratic nomination after the longest and closest primary battle in U.S. history. But with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton ...

Drought's Impact on Businesses Gaining Scrutiny.

Jun 03, 2008 ... Byline: Jim Ostroff Droughts plaguing many parts of the U.S. are nabbing the attention of lenders and investors. They are zeroing in on businesses' exposure to water supply risks and how they might affect customer service and costs. Power plants, food processors, mining ...

Multinationals Revs Up Disaster Relief Efforts.

Jun 02, 2008 ... Byline: Andrew C. Schneider Private firms are playing an ever larger role in disaster relief worldwide. They're partnering with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to get supplies to regions hit by earthquakes, hurricanes or other natural disasters. Having workers based in or ...