The government stimulus package has not translated into an uptick in economic confidence among small-business owners, according to a report released Monday by Discover Financial Services.
The Riverwoods, Ill., credit card company's Small Business Watch index improved just half a point in February, rising to 71.9 since January. The index was pegged at 100 when it was started in 2006.
Discover said that 51% of small-business owners plan to invest less in their companies in the next six months, and 54% said they think business conditions are sliding.
Seventy percent of respondents said they do not expect a benefit to their business from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed into law last week.
"Even the anticipation of a massive federal stimulus package couldn't move the needle of economic confidence any higher," Ryan Scully, Discover's director of small-business credit cards, said in a press release.
