Why didn't President Obama have anything for small business in his state-of-the-union speech? Karen Kerrigan joins Jim Blasingame to discuss the rhetoric in Obama’s State of the Union Address and the absence of small business issues.

Is there anything more the Fed can do to influence the economy? Bob McTeer joins Jim Blasingame to report on potential Fed actions,and how it has recently supported the European Central Bank.

NFIB reports small businesses will grow slowly in 2012. Bill Dunkelberg joins Jim Blasingame to report December’s NFIB optimism index shows increases in capital spending and sales but borrowing is flat.

There are jobs available, but a lack of qualified applicants. NFIB’s Bill Dunkelberg joins Jim Blasingame to report that hiring is still flat among small businesses, and many of those who are hiring can't find qualified applicants.

We may not like the numbers, but we do like the trend. Bill Dunkelberg joins Jim Blasingame to report why this month’s NFIB Small Business Optimism Index indicates a small increase in optimism.

What small business issues do the candidates need to focus on? Giovanni Coratolo joins Jim Blasingame to discuss small business issues of the 2012 election, like Internet sales tax, extending tax cuts and the future of Obamacare.

Jim says we don’t need recess appointments, we need recess abolishments. Giovanni Coratolo joins Jim Blasingame to discuss the validity of recent recess appointments by Pres. Obama to the CFPB and NLRB.

How you can get involved in national small business policy debates? Giovanni Coratolo joins Jim Blasingame to discuss the U.S. Chamber's upcoming 2012 Small Business Summit in support of policies that help small business.

Reports of more sales in the pipeline and higher capital spending is encouraging. Sam Norwood joins Jim Blasingame with the Tatum Survey to report order backlogs are up for the near term, plus a rise in capital spending commitments.

A recent SBE Council survey shows exporting is part of small business growth plans. Karen Kerrigan joins Jim Blasingame to report more small businesses are including exporting in their growth plans.