SMBs Are Trapped in a Pressure Gap

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Bookipi study finds that SMBs are feeling the squeeze from rising supplier costs, late payments, reduced demand, and fear of climbing prices.

Small businesses worldwide are facing a widening financial "pressure gap" due to global instability, according to a new global survey from Bookipi, a global platform offering a comprehensive suite of AI-powered business management tools tailored for small businesses (SMBs) and solopreneurs. 

Tariffs, inflation, geopolitical instability, and trade tensions are driving costs higher, making customers more cautious, delaying payments, and prompting small business owners to hesitate before raising prices to protect profits.

Inflation Remains a Danger to the U.S. Economy

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Inflation remains a danger to the U.S. economy, so enjoy the good news when you can. That includes data released this week showing that both consumer and producer prices are flattening a bit.

Also encouraging is that the producer-price index released Wednesday (7/15/26) pointed in the right direction. Wholesale prices fell 0.3% month-on-month in June, firmly on a downward trend after a recent peak in April and again led by energy-price declines. Producer prices are often a harbinger of changes that eventually feed through to CPI. 

Read more here.

Stagflationary Shock

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President Trump has had little reason to scale back on his global trade was ambitions.  If the new tariffs go into effect on Aug. 1, they could unleash the sort of devastation to consumers and businesses that economists have long worried about and that Mr. Trump has mostly avoided.

Their fear stems from the specter of a stagflationary shock, in which inflation intensifies as growth stalls.

Definition of stagflation:

Stagflation is an economic situation where high inflation, slow economic growth (stagnation), and high unemployment occur simultaneously. It is a difficult economic condition to manage because efforts to combat one aspect (like inflation) can worsen the others (like unemployment). 

The economy has been resilient.  For how long?  The new round of tariffs may hit harder.

The Dollar's Worst Start to the Year in Decades

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The United States’ currency has weakened more than 10 percent over the past six months when compared with a basket of currencies from the country’s major trading partners. The last time the dollar weakened so much at the start of the year was 1973, when the United States made a seismic shift and ended the linking of the dollar to the price of gold.

The combination of Mr. Trump’s trade proposals, inflation worries and rising government debt has weighed on the dollar, which has also been buffeted by slowly sliding confidence in the role of the United States at the center of the global financial system.   

Maybe the dollar isn't that weak after all because it started from such a high level.

Learn more about the state of the dollar, full-scale de-dollarization and how the weaker dollar impacts investments from Americans outside the USA.

Inflation Still Concerns Global Small Business Owners

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Inflation is the single most important problem for many global small-business owners, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said, despite price rises slowing to their lowest level in two years in June. Many owners are also reporting a struggle to fill job openings, the federation said.

The percentage of owners expecting an improvement in business conditions in the next six months rose by 10 points to a net negative 30, the highest reading in nearly two years but still very low compared with the historical average, NFIB said.

Read more about how confidence for global small business owners ticked up in July but inflation concerns still weigh on businesses.

A Tough Year Ahead for the U.K.

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Economists agreed persistently high inflation, a shrinking workforce, declining trade relations with the EU, and a high exposure to the energy crisis sparked by the Ukraine war were the leading factors behind the U.K.’s comparatively grim prospects.

Economists surveyed predicted a return to normal by 2024 when inflation begins to dissipate, but the rest of this year will likely be a long slog for the U.K. economy.

The U.K. is expected to see the largest economic contraction among wealthy nations due to the Ukraine war and the energy crisis.

Oh Everything Is Messed Up Right Now: War, China Covid Curbs, Shootings, Global Supply Chain Woes, Inflation and Rising Interest Rates

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Manufacturing growth slowed last month in economies as diverse as France, Japan to Malaysia, business surveys showed recently, illustrating the challenge policymakers face in trying to combat inflation and a whole heck of a lot of other things while not stifling anaemic economic activity.

Global growth in factory activity slowed in May as China's strict coronavirus curbs and Russia's invasion of Ukraine disrupted supply chains and dampened demand, adding to woes for businesses already struggling with surging raw material prices.

Oh, it's everything right now, not just one thing.  What's a global business owner to do?  I [Laurel Delaney] will tell you:

1. Be an effective leader
2. Cut expenses
3. Conserve cash
4. Focus on quality
5. Control spending
6. Lower risk
7. Cut staff
8. Raise prices
9. Maintain existing profitable exports

Do most of the above, and you will at least make it through a very next rough 18 months.