Today in Small Business: Demise of the Internet Sales Tax

What’s affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners today.

The Economy

• Optimism rebounds among small-business owners in October but fewer owners plan to raise wages.
• After years of careful budgeting, consumers may finally be confident enough to buy high-priced goods this holiday season.
• The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries says output fell sharply in October.
• Macy’s cuts its sales outlook.

Washington

• Republicans are signaling the demise of the Internet sales tax bill and disappointing brick-and-mortar owners.

Online

• A study shows that online security concerns are driving consumers to shop at small businesses.
• Spotify’s chief executive says Taylor Swift would have made $6 million had she not pulled her music from the service.
• Alibaba’s Singles’ Day sales exceeded predictions at $9.3 billion.
• The owner of a New Mexico company that holds the Nets.com domain name is behind pranks on the site that are intended to push the Brooklyn Nets to buy the domain.

Start-Ups

• Start-ups can now buy insurance against the threat of patent trolls.
• IBM is giving up to $10,000 in credits per month to select customers as it tries to attract more start-ups to its cloud service.
• Google gives start-up tips to minority small-business owners from its New York office.

Video

• Mark Cuban bets big on a new video-sharing app.
• Yahoo bets big with a $640 million acquisition of a video advertising platform.

Management

• Business brokers are anticipating an uptick in sales of businesses by baby boomers.
• Here is how to determine the best location for a wholesale distribution business.
• Cash balance plans are redefining how some companies pay retirement benefits.
• Walmart sends an urgent memo demanding better store management of its “chilled and fresh” grocery items.

Employees

• American retail workers steal more than shoplifters.
• A Chick-fil-A restaurant manager posts a list of words that employees must no longer use in the workplace.
• Should you accept a co-worker’s (or employee’s) Facebook friend request?
• A bank executive says he would “hire any military person, sight unseen.”
• For women in technology, egg-freezing parties are a new post-work event.

Around the Country

• The Mayo Hotel, which has helped set off Tulsa’s renaissance, was bought in 2011 for $1.
• Labor problems delay Washington apples at West Coast seaports.
• California’s strawberry industry is hooked on dangerous pesticides.
• Boca Raton, Fla., blocks a proposal to allow alcohol sales until 4 a.m.
• In federal court, a handful of California gun store owners are challenging a state law that limits their ability to advertise.

Around the World

• China and the United States reach agreements on high-tech products and on climate change.
• A landmark ruling on overtime pay in Britain could have serious consequences for small businesses.

Health Care

• Health care premiums are falling by 0.2 percent across 48 major cities.
• A webcast Wednesday will explain what you need to know about the Affordable Care Act.

Entrepreneurship

• This is the story of how the founder of Panera Bread built a $4.5 billion restaurant chain.
• A Las Vegas preschool is teaching students to be entrepreneurs.

Social Media

• Pinterest says its male users have doubled in the past year.
• Here is how to use Twitter’s new audio cards for business.

Mobile

• Millennials are demanding websites that are optimized for mobile, according to a survey.

Technology

• Amazon Cloud Drive gets its own developer interface.
• A company that provides point-of-sale systems has raised $100 million to remake the cash register.
• Microsoft rebrands Lync as “Skype for Business” and rolls out a tool to reduce clutter in its users’ email inboxes.
• Here are 17 apps that can save chief executives money.

Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.