Recovery In Sight?

Is economic recovery on the horizon?
I certainly believe so! The U.S., like their northern neighbor Canada, will recover more quickly than their troubled European allies. The 2006 subprime crisis and subsequent 2007 global systemic fiasco caused a lot of credit to dry up in the capital markets - like water in the Sahara Desert. We can see signs of recovery, due to the Federal Reserve doing their best to stimulate some sort of fundamental economic reestablishment to the economy.

Signs of activity.
The political landscape has labelled small businesses as job creators. So, why not take a look at Main Street to see if any sign of growth/recovery is occurring? Some has stated, like the government analyst Robert Longely, that small businesses - firms with 500 and less employees - provide jobs for more than half of the U.S. private workforce. That by itself should say something. Now, what is a good indicator of increase activity? Evidently, new capital is what we need to look at, more specifically small businesses loans being generated. This would indicate signs of growth and possible expansion.

SBA loans.
Private sector lenders facilitate loans that are backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) federal agency. Firms, that cannot obtain credit through regular channels may qualify for these special programs to jump start their company. Large and regional banks, like Huntington National Bank - subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares Inc. (HBAN) - are providing more commercial and industrial loans as of last year than in 2010 (CIBOARD).

Changes for the better?
The SBA  agency decided on March 26, to change the size limit - in terms of annual revenue - for some companies to be classified as a small business. The affected industries are the Professional, Technical, and Scientific Sectors (CFO Magazine). Due to the revised standards, these affected firms could receive federal funding under the 7(a) and 504 loan programs (SBA loans). This modified standard brings a lot of help, since it provides, these 'other than small' companies, an opportunity to grow before leaving the 'SBA nest'.

The Final Outcome.
Upon graduating from Main Street, these firms would be able to compete with the 'big boys' on Wall Street, due to the revision. However, before that can take place more needs to be done to ensure solid sustainable economic stability across the board. Incentives need to be placed in the market to stimulate firms to want to grow, to want to expand, and to want to hire. Hopefully we can see more signs of that in 2013.