A Credit Squeeze for Small-Business Owners

By ANDREW MARTIN Louis Licata has shelved plans to hire three more employees for his Cleveland law firm. Jeannie Macone, of Florida, is cutting back on inventory for her trinket and home décor business. In Ohio, Patrick Allen has slashed employee travel and begun paying cash for work dinners with clients of the marketing firm that he started from scratch. A crackdown on credit limits by card companies is squeezing the nation’s 27 million small businesses, exacerbating the problems brough