- Prior 90.9
This is the 15th straight month that the index has come in below its 49-year average of 98, as business sentiment continues to dawdle to start the new year. NFIB notes that:
"While prospects for the economy continue to dim, the widely expected recession has not yet appeared. Fourth quarter growth was shaded down to 2.6%, inventory accumulation accounted for 60% of the total growth. Weakness in residential construction took 1.2 percentage points off of the growth rate and will continue to be a negative in the first quarter numbers. Hiring plans fell to their lowest level since May 2020.
"There are major uncertainties ahead, most immediate is concern that a banking crisis could develop. This usually results from too many risky loans going bad, including auto and consumer credit. However, the current issue resulted from poor risk management. The Fed kept rates too low for too long, encouraging the growth of risky assets. Lots of investments looked good with a 2% cost of funds and bank savings paid virtually nothing."