Econintersect: The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)’s optimism index rose from 95.2 to 96.9. The market was expecting the index between 93.5 to 96.5 with consensus at 96.0. But this still leaves the Index below its historical average, oscillating between 95 and 98 but never breaking out except for December, when the Index just tipped past 100, only to fall again.
NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg states:
Optimism may have seen a slight jump from last month’s weak numbers, but there was not an especially large gain in any area except for an improvement in profit trends.Small business owners are still wary of the future, and that’s most evident when we asked them about future sales.
Overall, the Index remains steady, but it is still a few points below the average and is showing no tendency to break out into a stronger pattern of economic growth. The little economic growth we do see is coming mostly from small businesses. Solid economic growth would require good performance from both big and small firms and that will likely be elusive this year.
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