Small Business Slump

U.S. economic data continues to send mixed signals. On the day when July monthly retail sales surprised to the upside (but from downwardly revised June), small business survey showed a slump across the board. NFIB reported that current small business conditions make up the weakest post-recession recovery in the history of the survey. Sentiment, outlook, earnings, and employment - are all in sequential decline.

Privately-owned businesses do not need to engineer growing profits for demanding investors. No lipstick-on-a-pig games there...

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