Small Business Optimism Weak. Chain Store Sales Hurt by Snow.

Chain Store Sales  (week ended 2/9/2013)

ICSC-Goldman Store Sales

– Store Sales – Week/Week -2.5%

– Store Sales – Year/Year +2.1%.

Redbook

Store Sales Year/Year +2.4%.

The drop in the week/week in the ICSC data was likely due to the large snowstorm which hit a densely populated part of the country on the weekend.

The Consumer Metrics Absolute Demand Index http://www.consumerindexes.com/ has started moving up after about 2 weeks of trending lower.

NFIB Small Business Optimism Index (January 2013)

Optimism level 88.9. Previous was 88.0.

In their words:  “Small-business owner confidence continues to drag… The Index gained 0.9 points, rising to 88.9, failing to regain the losses caused by last month’s “fiscal cliff” scare. Expectations for improved business conditions increased by five points, but remain overwhelmingly low—negative 30 percent—the fourth lowest reading in survey history. Actual job creation and job creation plans improved nominally, but still not enough to keep up with population growth.

Small businesses are important because it is there that job growth takes place.