Franchises feel the pinch


With few job opportunities, people are looking at starting up franchises. In fact, I recently talked to someone who said that the upcoming Franchise Expo conference has seen a doubling of registrations.

But according to the Wall Street Journal [a paid publication], there are signs that the credit crunch is taking a toll on franchises.

After all, the upfront costs for a franchise can be significant. Moreover, there are the expenses for upkeep and maintenance.

Some of the franchises that are looking to pull back on expansion include major operators like Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC), Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA) and so on as different finance firms such as GE's (NYSE: GE) capital arm and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) are showing some restraint and putting a squeeze on financing.

Basically, until the capital markets stabilize and credit gets back to normal, it can be tough times for those who want to jump into the franchise game.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-89.2312,801.23
NASDAQ-23.352,903.88
S&P 500-9.311,342.64

Last updated: February 12, 2012: 03:56 PM

Hot Stocks

General Electric

18.875-0.255(-1.33)

Alcoa

10.29-0.35(-3.29)

Apple Inc

493.42+0.25(+0.05)

Google Inc 'A'

605.91-5.55(-0.91)

Bank of America

8.07-0.11(-1.34)

Wal-Mart Stores

61.90-0.06(-0.10)

Exxon Mobil Corp

83.80-1.08(-1.27)

Ford

12.44-0.25(-1.97)

Citigroup

32.925-0.735(-2.18)

IBM

192.42-0.71(-0.37)

Yahoo

16.14+0.14(+0.88)

Starbucks

48.82-0.38(-0.77)

Microsoft

30.495-0.275(-0.89)

Home Depot

45.33+0.06(+0.13)

DailyFinance Headlines

Benzinga Headlines

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

BioHealth Investor Headlines

WalletPop Headlines

DailyFinance BlackBerry App

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance

BioHealth Investor Headlines

Page Loaded in 1329080187969 ms.