US: Small business confidence ebbed slightly - Wells Fargo

The National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Optimism Index dropped in November for the third month in-a-row. According to analysts at Wells Fargo, the stock market selloff is likely weighing on business owners’ minds.

Key Quotes: 

“The NFIB Survey of Small Business Optimism has pulled back slightly over the past three months, as business owners have scaled back their expectations for economic growth. The drop may reflect concerns from the recent stock market selloff.”

“Most of the survey’s components dealing with actual business conditions were little changed. The share of firms stating now is a good time to expand fell 1 point but remains high at 29%.”

“The proportion of firms planning to boost capital spending fell 1 point to 29%, while the share of firms planning to increase staffing was unchanged at 22%. Of the 60% of firms planning or trying to hire, 87% said they had few or no qualified applicants for the job.”