Business Essentials continues to provide a solid foundation of the essential topics that first-semester business students need to understand. Its focus on practical skills, knowledge of the basics, and important developments in business makes for a brief book, but a rich experience. The recent events in domestic and global economies are presenting unprecedented challenges, excitement, and disappointments for business–and a need for a change in the Introduction to Business course and text. The eighth edition captures the widespread significance of these developments and presents their implications on businesses today