No respite from recession for small businesses
Print This Story
December 11th, 2009 by Prieur du Plessis, Investment Postcards from Cape Town
Twitter It! | Email This Article
Despite the marked improvement in a number of credit spreads - including the TED spread, LIBOR-OIS spread, mortgage spreads, high-yield spreads and credit derivative indices - the credit situation for small businesses remains tight. The graph below shows the percentage indicating it was harder to obtain credit, as reported in the National Federation of Independent Business Optimism Survey, remains at crisis-type levels.
Source: Gluskin, Sheff & Associates - Breakfast with Dave, December 9, 2009.
The dilemma of small businesses is also illustrated by data from DiscoverCard Small Business Watch, showing the proportion of small businesses that have experienced cash-flow problems over the past 90 days.
Source: Chart of the Day, Clusterstock - The Business Insider, December 10, 2009.
Without a turnaround in the above, small businesses will not create jobs. And this is key to the overall economic recovery as small businesses are responsible for more than 60% of employment.
Dr. Prieur du Plessis is an investment professional with 26 years' experience in investment research and portfolio management. More than 1,200 of his articles on investment-related topics have been published in various regular newspaper, journal and Internet columns, including his blog, Investment Postcards from Cape Town. He has also published a book, Financial Basics: Investment. Prieur is Chairman and principal shareholder of South African-based Plexus Asset Management, which he founded in 1995. The group conducts investment management, investment consulting, private equity and real estate activities in South Africa and a number of foreign countries. He also serves as Honorary Consul of Slovenia for South Africa, actively developing economic, cultural and scientific relations between Slovenia and South Africa. Prieur is 54 years old and live with his wife, television producer and presenter Isabel Verwey, and two children in Cape Town, South Africa. His leisure activities include long-distance running, traveling, reading, motor-cycling and scripophily. Read more from the author/contributor here.
Related Posts
Adam Hewison: A Sneak Peek S&P 500, Dollar, Gold, and Crude Oil
Why Gold is Declining (The King Report)
Goldman Sachs’ VIP List: Most Important Stocks For Hedge Funds
Technical Talk: View pullback as buying opportunity
Where is Bruce Berkowitz Finding Value Now?
Tags: Amp, Bruce Berkowitz, Consuelo Mack, Decade, Domestic Equity, Equity Fund, Five Star, Morningstar, Portfolio Manager, WealthtrackPosted in Markets |
