• 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.“

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.