Skip navigation
Watchlist Sponsored By :


Current DateTime: 03:27:43 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24355697
  • Runway Angels

      The superbowl of fashion shows, models walk down the runway at the 2009 Victoria's Secret Show.

  • Smartphone Guide

      Here's a need-to-know guide to nine devices, based on features, price, network and platform.

  • Wines for the Holidays

      Not quite sure what wine to pair with Turkey or Creme Brulee? Our experts do.

FEATURED QUIZZES


Current DateTime: 03:27:43 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33793611
  • A Healthier & Wealthier You

      Take the following quiz and find out how much you know about the impact of obesity on the health of the U.S. economy.

  • The Billionaire BFF's

      Philanthropists. Bridge partners. Hockey players. Which responses are based on facts from Buffett's and Gates' real lives?

  • The Many Myths of Coca-Cola

      Can you tell which statements are true, and which ones are just rumors?


Current DateTime: 03:27:43 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24890560
  • Winterizing Your Portfolio

      If 2009 was the winter of our discontent, will 2010 be a winter wonderland for investors? A lot depends on the recovery—or lack thereof.

  • Investor's Guide to Real Estate

      Some even say the long-awaited recovery is here. Regardless, buyers and sellers alike can profit from our guide.

  • Alternative Investing

      Stocks and bonds? Sure. But it's a big world out there for investors.

powered by digg
Small Business Optimism Falls to 1993 Low
By: Reuters | 11 Dec 2007 | 09:51 AM ET
Text Size

Small business confidence in the U.S. economy tumbled for the second straight month in November because of worries that economic growth will slow, a survey released on Tuesday showed.

The National Federation of Independent Business said its index of small business optimism fell 1.8 points to 94.4 in November from October to its lowest since 1993.

After the Sept. 18 Federal Reserve rate cut, small business firms cut spending and hiring plans, the NFIB said. Small business expectations weakened further following a second rate cut in October and forecasts for slower economic growth.

"Things were looking good on Main Street until the Fed warned that the economy was at risk of sinking," said NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg.

"That warning had credibility, and the logical response was to cut hiring, capital spending and other growth-related activities," Dunkelberg said. "And indeed that occurred in the last 12 days of September and continued into October and November."

Wall Street widely expects the Federal Reserve to cut the benchmark federal funds rate on Tuesday, probably by 25 basis points. The rate now stands at 4.50 percent.

The cut in interest rates will do little to spur new home construction with such an overhang of supply, he said.

"The recovery of new home construction is likely to be very uneven as most of the overbuilding occurred in a few geographic areas such as California, Florida and Las Vegas, where foreclosures are very high, Dunkelberg said.

"High foreclosure rates in Michigan and Ohio are due more to a weak economy than overbuilding," he said.

During the next three months, 11 percent of the owners polled by the group say they plan to create new jobs, unchanged from October, but 3 points below September, NFIB said.

Thirteen percent of the owners said the availability of qualified labor was their top business problem, down a point from October, the group said.

Plans to make capital expenditures during the next few months were unchanged at 27 percent of all firms, while 13 percent of the owners said the current period is a good time to expand facilities, down 1 point from October.

Profits do not appear to be improving, even with a fairly high percent of firms raising prices, NFIB said.

The rise in "softer profit growth could simply be a result of the fact that third quarter economic growth was exceptional, so a return slower, more normal growth eliminated some of the profit associated with higher than normal GDP growth," Dunkelberg said.

Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Tools:
Print EmailAdd This share icon
  • digg share

CNBC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Remember when auto shows were major events where new models could generate buzz?
  • Swine Flu Needle
  • CNBC’s Mike Huckman visits a cutting-edge plant to see how the flu vaccine of the future is being made.
  • People who bottle up their anger at work are up to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack, a study found.
  • Playboy Logo
  • Playboy will outsource its publishing operations in a bid to become profitable again.
  • A new McDonald's in Manhattan is the nation's first to sport a sleek, chic interior imported from stores in London and Paris.
  • For nearly three decades, these on-call experts have been dishing advice on how to – and not to – cook turkey.
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 01:26:08 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 01:01:48 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 02:05:47 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 01:01:48 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters