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Small-business owners' confidence slipped again this month as bad economic news mounted and the majority of owners said it is getting more difficult to borrow money, according to a monthly survey sponsored by Discover Financial Services. Some 64% of small-business owners surveyed in October rated the economy as poor, up from 57% who said so last month, according to the Discover Small Business Watch. The Watch provides a monthly index measuring relative economic confidence of 1,000 randomly selected small-business owners based on their responses to six questions. The base value was established at 100 in August 2006, when the Watch began. The Watch in October fell to 71.4, which is the lowest-ever confidence rating for the survey. Thirteen percent of small-business owners said they expect to lay off workers in the next few months. Respondents' answers to several questions showed growing pessimism about Washington's economic-rescue efforts. Some 57% of business owners said they did not agree with the $700 billion bailout plan recently approved by Congress, while 69% said they are not confident that the federal government and Congress can address their business needs. Twenty percent of those surveyed said banks where they keep their business deposits recently failed, merged or have been taken over. For the second consecutive month, 70% of small-business owners said it is difficult to borrow money. Ryan Scully, director of Discover's business credit card, tells CardLine this month's survey revealed deepening pessimism among the savviest small-business owners. "We saw the lowest confidence yet among tenured small-business owners–those with at least 10 years' experience were the most pessimistic of all." Rasmussen Reports LLC conducted the online survey.
