SmallBusinessNewz

Here's some good news for you: the Dow's up 1.06 percent right now, and the Nasdaq's risen by 1.74 percent so far today.  Now go pet a puppy or something, as new data indicates small business owners aren't feeling too cheerful.

"The National Federation of Independent Business Index of Small Business Optimism fell 2.2 points to 89.3 - a recession-level reading, and the lowest index reading since 1980," stated NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg.  Dunkelberg's stats come from May, so it's possible outlooks are even lower now.

"But the current low readings have not been accompanied by the declines in real spending and hiring as was the case in past recessions," he continued.  So things could be considerably worse.

About sixteen percent of small business owners plan to add employees over the next few months, while just eight percent plan to make cutbacks.  And even if not a lot of owners reported earnings improvements, the number didn't decrease at all between April and May.

Admittedly, these are some silver-lining observations.  Yet here's another positive development: the latest CPI report indicates inflation isn't too out of hand.