streettalklive.com / By Lance Roberts / Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The latest release of the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Survey was a bit of dichotomy of interpretation. Econoday stated the following:
Optimism is up among small business owners based on a solid 1.9 point gain in the small business optimism index to 90.8 in February. Inventory building, which is often a sign of optimism, leads February’s gain followed by plans to increase capital outlays which is another sign of optimism. Gains are wide across components and also include a rise in current job openings. Despite the month’s strengths, the report notes that the index level remains in recessionary ground.
However, while Econoday’s economists interpreted the report as primarily optimistic, the NFIB’s Chief Economist Bill Dunkleberg had this to say:
“While the Fortune 500 are enjoying record high earnings, Main Street earnings remain depressed. Far more firms report sales down quarter over quarter than up. Washington is manufacturing one crisis after another—the debt ceiling, the fiscal cliff and the sequester. Spreading fear and instability are certainly not a strategy to encourage investment and entrepreneurship.Three-quarters of small-business owners think that business conditions will be the same or worse in six months. The Index gained almost 2 points last month; that was good news. But, until owners’ forecast for the economy improves substantially, there will be little boost to hiring and spending from the small business half of the economy.“
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