SmallBusinessNewz

Is it the end of a traumatic episode?  Or just a slight bob above water?  Either way, a new report from Discover indicates that some small business owners have put cash flow problems behind them, and others have taken a turn towards cheerfulness since June.

During that month, a full 42 percent of owners surveyed by Discover claimed to have encountered cash flow issues within the previous 90 days.  By July, the number had decreased to 33 percent.  That seems to be about as good a one-month increase as anyone could ask for.

Also, "17 percent of small business owners think the U.S. economy is getting better, an increase from nine percent in June," according to a statement, and "28 percent of owners say that economic conditions for their business are getting better, an increase from 23 percent in June."

These figures could be flukes; maybe everyone was just happy about Independence Day.  It's nice to see the numbers, though, and they're even more important coming from a major credit card company.

We'll keep an eye out (and a couple of fingers crossed) for Discover's August data to see if this positive trend continues.