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

The Economy

• Crude oil prices are at their lowest since June 2012.
• Important measures indicate low inflation for September.
• Economists are not enthusiastic about the Republican economic agenda.

Start-Up

• A start-up aims to solve a financial problem most people don’t realize they have.
• Ahead of winter, a new coat company tries to disrupt the market.
• An “on demand” beauty service raises $7 million.
• Here are five important traits for a start-up management team.
• Here is why more companies are claiming to be the Uber of whatever it is they do.
• Here are 50 side businesses you can start today.

Entrepreneurship

• Entrepreneurs in the music industry fail for these reasons, according to an industry expert.
• Here is why Detroit is a great city for female entrepreneurs.
• If you’re over 40, you may be perfectly suited to be an entrepreneur.

Employees

• Here is how one company pampers its workers.
• As activists push for a higher minimum wage, McDonald’s plans more automation.
• A survey suggests that finding work as a freelancer is about word of mouth (and here is why the freelance economy is growing).
• Two labor strategy consultants explain the labor-volatility index.
• This Facebook employee is tasked with making sure the site’s users are nice to one another.
• Seventy percent of job candidates say online applicationsdiscourage candidates.
• The maker of Camel cigarettes is banning smoking in its offices.

Management

• Amazon is likely to top $100 billion in revenue next year — but hasn’t made a quarterly profit since 2011.
• Lloyds Banking Group plans to cut 10 percent of its work force.

Marketing

• In an unusual marketing move, there will be a limited release of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” soundtrack on cassette.
• You can purchase a titanium toothbrush for $4,000.
• Here are a few budget-friendly ways to market your business with events.

Social Media

• Twitter introduces a new way to sign into apps without using passwords.
• This application will “supercharge” Twitter alerts.
• A top Saudi Arabian cleric says Twitter is the “source of all evil.”

Opportunities

• Here is why our aging baby boomer population could mean trillions of dollars in business opportunities.
• These are the sectors where the “Internet of Things” really matters.

Ideas

• This “genius” app solves math problems using a phone’s camera.
• A company is selling an Ebola-themed Halloween costume.

Franchises

• These are some successful habits of fast-growing franchises.

Online

• A lock service filed a federal lawsuit against Google, Yellowbook and Ziplocal, charging that the companies allow unlicensed locksmiths to advertise on their search engines.
• Groupon goes after Yelp and Google with millions of individual business pages.
• Microsoft and IBM strike a cloud-computing deal.
• Amazon becomes more enterprise-friendly with the introduction of its AWS Directory Service.

Around the Country

• Kentucky is one of 29 states where it is legal to refuse service to anyone perceived as being gay or transgender.
• Kansas is facing still more fiscal pain.
• Bryan Cranston takes a swipe at a Florida woman who started a petition to rid stores of “Breaking Bad” toys.
• This is the story of a cereal shortage in one small town in Colorado.
• Pennsylvania’s governor is sending millions of taxpayer dollars to big businesses.
• Indian store owners in Jackson, Miss., say they are being targetedby criminals.

Around the World

• This secret ingredient is propelling Britain’s emerging chocolate makers.
• China’s leadership is making headway in an ambitious plan to liberalize the nation’s economy.
• The eurozone economy is still “in a danger zone.”

Technology

• Google is preparing to take on Apple Pay.
• Gartner lists its top 10 strategic technology trends for 2015.