The small business index has little impact on markets but it’s worth noting the details.
There’s a boost for plans to invest and increase jobs but that’s countered by a fall in expectations fro the economy to improve.
US NFIB 10 12 2013
“The year is not ending on a high note in the small-business sector of the economy. The ‘bifurcation’ continues with the stock market hitting record high levels, but the small-business sector is showing little growth beyond that driven by population growth. There is also a hint that employers are getting an inkling of what Obamacare might mean for labor costs, concern about the cost and availability of insurance bumped up 3 percentage points after a long period of no real change. Small-business owners who provide health insurance may soon find that their plans ‘unacceptable’ to Obamacare and be obliged to either pay more for the coverage or abandon it and pay the benefit in cash. This will be a major source of angst and uncertainty in 2014.”– NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg
