Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

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February 1, 2011 -- 10:00 a.m. EST Investors Parse Small-Business Tax Proposal Angels and venture capitalists welcome permanent capital-gains tax relief, but await details of Obama's proposal. • Obama Proposes Tax Relief for Small Businesses • Vote: What grade for small-business initiatives?   *  *  * Government to Urge Small Businesses to Export U.S. trade officials plan to spread out across the country this year to recruit small-business owners in the administration's effort to double exports by 2015. • Vote: Is your business exporting?   *  *  * More Small Businesses Become Multinationals From brew-pub operators to manufacturers of irrigation gear, more small companies are following the trail blazed by bigger ones toward globalization.   *  *  * Small-Business Groups: Obama Speech Was Skimpy The NSBA and NFIB applauded the president's desire to correct health law's 1099 provision, but wanted more.   *  *  * Is It Time to Promote an Employee? A new study suggests employers tend to advance workers in January, June and July. Most small businesses, however, aren't held to a specific timetable.   How to Position Yourself as an Expert The Young Entrepreneur Council answers a reader's question on becoming a recognized specialist.   *  *  * Small Business 'Burden' Is Tough to Quantify The widely repeated notion that small businesses face disproportionate regulatory costs rests on some questionable calculations and assumptions. • The Cost of Doing Business in the U.S.   *  *  * Can the Flower Industry Learn From Amazon? Approaching an industry with fresh eyes can lead to a great business concept.   *  *  * In Race to Market, It Pays to Be Late Being first on the scene rarely pays off, a new research paper concludes. Think Netscape, Friendster and Commodore Business Machines. • Vote: Does being first to market help or hurt businesses?   *  *  * Export-Import Bank to Increase Small-Business Loans A U.S. financial institution plans to spur exports by providing $6 billion in loans to small businesses this year and $9 billion a year by 2015.   *  *  * Small-Business Optimism Index Slips After four consecutive gains, the National Federation of Independent Business index of small-business optimism fell back in December.   *  *  * Tough Year for Business? Try Living in a Disaster Zone While U.S. entrepreneurs continued to struggle in 2010—facing tight credit markets and weak consumer spending—those problems paled in comparison to what business owners faced in the world's more troubled regions.   *  *  * Pizza Chain Seeks Slice of Bicultural Pie Pizza Patrón, a 100-unit restaurant chain that has long catered to a Spanish-speaking clientele, is turning its charms on English speakers.   *  *  * Public Relations, the Hard Way From BP's oil spill to Apple's "antennagate," 2010 saw more than its fair share of corporate crises. Here's a look at how some companies handled the heat.   *  *  * How I Built It Rising to Occasion With a Bakery Chain Panera Bread Co.'s Ron Shaich, discusses his early days at the helm of Au Bon Pain to his latest entrepreneurial endeavor, Panera Cares.   *  *  * Money Hunt Follow WSJ on Facebook and Twitter.