Americans’ Views on the Economy and Small Business Week: The Latest Finance News Trends

A look at the finance industry news from PR Newswire in May and June that you might have missed.

 

Finance News Trends, May-June 2024

 

By Rocky Parker | Published July 5, 2024

 

If you had trouble keeping up with the 7,000+ finance-related press releases to cross the wire in May and June, we understand! Our team has been monitoring the headlines and we’re here to cover some of the most-read releases of the past two months as well as some of the larger themes among the announcements.

From a Small Business Week recap to advancements in AI-driven fintech and Americans’ somewhat confounding views on the economy, this post has you covered.

Let’s dive in!

Popular Finance Releases

Some releases just draw in readers regardless of which trend they may or may not be tied to. These are a few of the most-read finance releases during the past two months.

Finance News Trends

Let’s dive in to the big finance news trends of May and June and take a look at some of the related releases.

Small Business Week

The two-month period kicked off with National Small Business Week (April 28-May 4). The week acknowledges the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. According to a press release from the U.S. Small Business Administration, this year’s celebration was unique. “Set against the backdrop of the historic Small Business Boom fueled by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, this National Small Business Week holds unique significance as we honor the entrepreneurs who create jobs, strengthen their neighborhoods, and solve global problems,” the release states.

While the small business releases may have spiked during the weeklong event, they were still ever present on the wire throughout the rest of May and June.

In all, PR Newswire distributed more than 400 small business press releases during the past two months, including these ones that stood out:

  • KeyBank's 2024 Small Business Survey found that despite their concerns about inflation, fraud and political noise, small business owners show signs of confidence about the year ahead.
  • Portal.ai launched in June to level the competitive business playing field. The platform equips SMBs with an easy-to-use app that offers one-click actionable advice for their business based on the best methodologies.
  • Business banking platform Relay announced the close of a US$32.2 million Series B financing round. "Relay gives them cash flow clarity and control—what SMBs need to sustainably fuel everyday operations—by pairing financial services with software and making banking work harder for them," said Yoseph West, Relay's Co-Founder and CEO.
  • The Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce (LIAACC) announced a partnership with Trellus to distribute $125,000 in JumpSMART grant funding to minority-owned small businesses in Suffolk County.
  • Business mentor organization SCORE launched a small business pitch competition that offers entrepreneurs a chance to win up to $20,000 and gain the knowledge and skills necessary to propel their business to new heights.

Disconnected View on the Economy

A recent Harris poll found that many Americans believe the U.S. is in a recession (it isn’t), that the S&P 500 is down (it’s up) and that unemployment is at a 50-year high (it’s at a near 50-year low).

This surprising disconnected and pessimistic view that defies statistics has been called a “vibecession,” a term first coined by economics writer Kyla Scanlon. She defines it as “a period of temporary vibe decline where economic data such as trade and industrial activity are relatively okayish.”

Recent surveys and polls shared via the wire reflect these bad vibes on everything from consumer confidence to retirement, inflation and more. The data also highlights the areas of the economy that are keeping this disconnect in place, like high prices for homes and groceries. Brands also continue to introduce ways to help consumers save more, plan better and learn to more effectively manage their finances.

Here are a few releases you might have missed:

  • In the second-quarter AICPA & CIMA Economic Outlook Survey, business executives continued their seesawing, adopting a more pessimistic outlook on the economy's prospects after a significant rebound in sentiment the previous quarter.
  • A Nationwide survey found that 78% of Americans rate the economy as poor to fair, a 6% improvement since last year. “This tension between rapid price increases over the past several years and the evolving big picture is what has made today's economy challenging to understand,” said Kathy Bostjancic, Nationwide's Chief Economist.
  • Fintech funding platform Fundkite found that among small business owners, 77% do not believe inflation pressures will be resolved by the end of 2024 and 43% are unsure if the U.S. will enter a recession by the end of the year.
  • NationalBusinessCapital looked at the states hit hardest by inflation and how that could impact the presidential election in November. "It's unlikely any of the biggest states will change their electoral votes based on inflation alone," explained Joe Camberato, Chief Executive Officer, NationalBusinessCapital.com. "But, if a significant portion of the population does vote with its pocketbook, it could determine who will be inaugurated next January."

AI in Finance

The growing use of artificial intelligence across industries shows no signs of slowing down, and finance is one industry in which the tech seems to be showing up in more and more press release headlines.

But those at the top of the field are still cautious of fully embracing the technology, while recognizing its benefits. In statements to a Financial Stability Oversight Council and Brookings Institution AI conference, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the use of AI in finance carries "significant risks."

"Given how quickly AI technology is developing, with fast-evolving potential use cases for financial firms and market participants, scenario analysis could help regulators and firms identify potential future vulnerabilities and inform what we can do to enhance resilience," Yellen said.

AI is being implemented in fraud detection, e-commerce, customer service, money management advice and other financial services.

During the last two months, we spotted more than 500 finance releases crossing the wire that mentioned “artificial intelligence” and/or “generative AI,” including these few that caught our attention:

  • Indemn launched its Copilot tool for insurance agents that acts as a bespoke AI agent tailored to their unique business, tone, products and knowledge base.
  • Bloomberg Law’s new AI-powered tool Clause Adviser assesses which side of a deal – buyer, seller or neutral – an individual clause favors and allows a user to quickly modify the favorability of the clause.
  • Add Value Machine and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank concluded their Generative AI Hackathon in early June. More than 120 participants focused on the most relevant ROI generative AI use cases in procurement, engineering, retail banking and treasury.
  • S&P Global Market Intelligence announced updates to its S&P Capital IQ Pro platform, including new GenAI-powered earnings transcript summarization capabilities. 

Looking Ahead

As the election season heats up, we’ll be watching how the latest data on consumers’ financial views fluctuates. Our team will also be watching for the latest earnings announcements in July/August and news surrounding Black Business Month (August), Financial Awareness Day (Aug. 14) and back-to-school spending.

Stay tuned for the next recap!

 

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About the Author

Rocky Parker headshotRocky Parker is the Manager of Audience and Journalist Engagement at Cision PR Newswire. She's been with the company since 2010 and has worked with journalists and bloggers as well as PR and comms professionals. Outside of work, she can be found trying a new recipe, binging a new show, or cuddling with her pitbull, Hudson.