Though their concerns about credit availability have stabilized, fewer U.S. small business owners expect revenues, cash flow, capital spending and hiring to increase over the next 12 months, according to a survey from the parent of Wachovia Bank-Connecticut.
The July survey for the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index shows lower expectations for business prospects contributed to a 17-point decline from April in the survey’s index of business owner confidence, finishing at the lowest score since the survey’s inception. Â
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Credit conditions improved modestly for businesses in July with 32 percent of respondents reporting that credit was “somewhat” or “very difficult” to obtain over the past 12 months, down from 36 percent in April.
Yet business owners expect credit to remain tight over the next 12 months as 42 percent expect credit to remain “somewhat” or “very difficult” to obtain, the same percentage reported in April and January 2010.
Wachovia, operates 474 branches with 13,000 employees in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. The Wachovia brand will switch to Wells Fargo in the first quarter of 2011.
