RJ and Makay

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The economic downturn of 2008 put a spotlight on small business and the media often pointed to small business as an engine of job growth, according to a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article. The article focused on what extent small businesses actually create jobs, and queried experts to gain insight into the various types of small businesses and the goals of the people who run them.

As year-end earnings reports come in, one thing seems clear. Large U.S. corporations generally did very well in the fourth quarter and 2010 as a whole. Furthermore, 2010 is shaping up as the best year for large corporations in more than a decade, with especially good results occurring in the telecommunications, energy, and financial sectors.

Roughly half the Standard & Poors (S&P) 500 companies have reported fourth-quarter and year-end earnings so far. Based on those reports, earnings in the S&P 500 were up 17% last year on a weighted basis. Sales were up about 9% for the year and rose 7% in the fourth quarter, far more than the third quarter's meager 0.9% increase.