A roundup of the day’s news that can help you and your business succeed

1. Still Unconfirmed

U.S. Small Business Administration chief nominee Maria Contreras-Sweet withstood vetting by a Senate committee, but she has yet to be confirmed. There weren’t enough senators present to establish a quorum. –Inc.com

2. Default Update

Senate Republicans have cleared the way for a vote on the debt ceiling bill that passed in the House on Tuesday. Small business owners won’t have to worry about a national default until 2015, if it passes.–New York Times

3. Tech Is On Fire…

At the Goldman Sachs conference in San Francisco yesterday, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen declared that the tech industry is far from bubble territory, saying that price to earnings ratios are low. The generally optimistic Andreessen seemed to suggest that you ain’t seen nothing yet from the tech sector, which is just now beginning to pick itself up after the recession.–TechCrunch

4. …Tech Is Cooling Off

A just-released Kauffman Foundation report sees others trend in tech: a consolidation of activity away from young firms into more mature ones, and a persistence decline in the pace of job creation. If you’re looking for true dynamism and entrepreneurialism, the report suggests, look outside the tech industry.–Harvard Business Review

5. Minimum Wage

Think a higher federal minimum wage would spell disaster for businesses? Check out Pulitzer Prize-winner David Cay Johnston’s arguments to the contrary, including why higher wages would help retain workers in low-skilled jobs and actually save companies money.–Al Jazeera

6. Scoring an Exit

Klout, the startup behind the once-ubiquitous social-media influence score, is remaking itself into a content platform for businesses–and apparently eyeing a lucrative exit. The startup has had a long, bumpy road, but it’s a lesson in what happens when a founder is just not willing to quit.–Inc.