Small business confidence rebounds on optimism about US-China trade deal

Resurgent optimism about the future of U.S. trade policy, along with a surprise spike in optimism about technological changes, helped lift confidence among small business owners, according to the fourth-quarter 2019 CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey. The CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Confidence Index rose from 57 in the third quarter to 59 in the fourth quarter, indicating that owners are feeling better about the overall outlook for their businesses. The Small Business Confidence Index is calculated based on entrepreneurs’ responses to a set of eight questions about their businesses. Increased optimism around trade helped the index rebound from an all-time low of 57 hit in Q3. Twenty-four percent of small business owners expect trade to have a positive effect on their businesses over the next year, up from 16% in Q3.