Here are this week’s news items for business and the economy, including the financial crisis in Greece and the Euro zone, banking reform, Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, and important economic data that will be reported this week. Read on for details, including charts and a video report:

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (C.A.R.D.) Act of 2009 is designed to protect new credit card users from unscrupulous practices. In protecting consumers, this act adds some key rules and regulations that protect consumers without encouraging unsound credit practices. See the full article at PhysicianEntrepreneur.com for details.

The popular Cash for Clunkers program ends Monday, August 24 2009 at 8 PM Eastern Daylight Time. The program is reportedly associated with over 450 thousand trade-ins of lower-mpg vehicles for new vehicles with significantly higher fuel efficiency. It looks like the program is about to exhaust the $3 billion that Congress allocated, so the administration had made this advance announcement to give shoppers a few more days to make their purchases. See the full article at PysicianEtrepreneur.com for details.

When the economy tanked, small business owners seeking or using financing were hurt badly. Business owners found financing harder and harder to come by, and even some who were approved for loans fell into trouble when their banks hit bottom and could not come up with the financing they had promised. A new SBA loan program is designed to help these businesses get through the recession. See the full article at physicianentrepreneur.com for details.

It looks like the US economy is showing some signs of recovery, based on quarterly earnings reports announced over the past few days, especially Intel’s announcement of improved earnings on Wednesday, which triggered a rally in the stock market. Unfortunately for those who are unemployed or looking for a new job, it does not look like the recovery (if it really is a recovery) has not yet resulted in a major reduction in the unemployment rate. While there has been some improvement reported in the latest figures, some of this can be explained by seasonality factors the government uses to adjust the statistics. If the employment situation remains bleak, this will be labeled as a jobless recovery, hobbled by the high unemployment rate. On the other hand, you can can turn this problem into a benefit – see the full article for details at physicianentrepreneur.com

General Motors’ bankruptcy reorganization plan was approved by the court on Sunday. The reborn company will have shed old debts and other obligations, and will be allowed to raise cash by selling some of its units. See the full article at PhysicianEntrepreneur.com where the implications of the reorganization plan are examined in detail.

One of the great gifts from history is the true life lessons that can be learned and avoided if we are paying attention. For small business owners’ research provides a telling resource for planning and ensuring success. If you’re on the path to starting a business, then it’s worth taking a look at what can be learned. Continued - click here >>

Small businesses hire most of the employees in the US and are the main source of new jobs. Some new programs have just been introduced to make more money available to small business. See the full article for details at physicianentrepreneur.com

Citigroup’s CEO, Vikram Pandit, estimated a quarterly operating profit of $8.3 billion, and the stock market reacted as if the economy has turned the corner and everything is going to be OK from now on. At this point, the market is hungry for good news, and reacts to anything that even suggests that the economy could be improving. It’s like a crack addict thrilled to get another fix – the thrill will last a short time but you can be sure he’ll crash again after it wears off. The bad news isn’t over yet; this is a rally within a bear market, the banks are still hurting, and here’s why – See physicianentrepreneur.com for details

Here are some tips you can learn from the mistakes of the big 3 auto makers.