SmallBusinessNewz

Well, so much for the idea of the National Federation of Independent Business Index of Small Business Optimism topping 90.0 anytime soon.  Although we got somewhat close in January, it dipped in February and again in March, reaching 86.8 for the more recent month.

The index has now been below 90.0 for an extremely lengthy period; the NFIB characterized this trend as "unprecedented."  There doesn't seem to be any one particular issue to pin the problem on, either.

Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB chief economist, said in a statement, "The March reading is very low and headed in the wrong direction.  Something isn't sitting well with small business owners.  Poor sales and uncertainty continue to overwhelm any other good news about the economy."

Of course, it's hard to blame small business owners for remaining a little grim given what the economy has been through.  Certain pieces of legislation may have some folks unhappy, too.

As always, we'll just have to hope that things look better next month.  At least the Dow is above 11,000 at the moment, perhaps sending a positive signal about the nearness of a true recovery from the recession.