Small business owners are not appreciably more optimistic than last month, but there are some indicators that things are getting better. Bill Dunkelberg joins Jim Blasingame to discuss the most recent report on small business optimism and market activity.

What's the future of manufacturing in the U.S.? Will health care reform pass in 2009? Will the SBA increase lending to small business exporters? How much more financial regulations will be imposed? Joan Pryde joins Jim Blasingame to discuss these topics and more.

China will continues to impact life and markets on planet Earth, according to Ted Fishman, who discuss the current unrest in China with Jim Blasingame, plus the success of its government stimulus and overall economic recovery. They also discuss the ways China will continue to influence the world for decades to come.

What is the future of small business retail? Does the travails of big box retailers have to negatively impact Main Street small businesses? Darlene Quinn joins Jim Blasingame to reveal why the big boxes are on the ropes and they discuss how small companies can learn from those failing national brands.

What financial regulations is the government planning? Who is hurt the most by the recession, young workers or older workers? Is a Value Added Tax (VAT) in our future? Joan Pryde and Jim Blasingame talk about these current events and others that impact small businesses.

What are small business managers saying about the current economic conditions? Sam Norwood reports with Jim Blasingame about business conditions for now and the next 60 days, on issues such as sales, credit, employment and capital spending, as reported by hundreds of small business managers.

How does a small business make sure it is ready for the next marketplace era? Doug Campbell talks with Jim Blasingame about the need to reinvent our small businesses so that we're ready for the next era of the marketplace where things will be different from what we've known.

Max Pappas joins Jim Blasingame to talk about what Congress is doing this week in Washington.

What will be the new "normal" for consumers in the future? Pam Danziger joins Jim Blasingame to discuss how consumers will behave during the recovery as well as how they will spend when the economy is out of the recession. They also discuss how consumers will feel about borrowing to buy in the future.

"Climate change" legislation is bad for small business, according to Sterling Burnett, as he joins Jim Blasingame to explain why he thinks Congress should hold public hearings before voting on climate change bill. This is the cap-and-trade bill that will create unilateral carbon reductions on the U.S. and reduce our global competitiveness.