| Last Five Years | Last Five Quarters | |||||||||
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | Q4-03 | Q1-04 | Q2-04 | Q3-04 | Q4-04 | |
| Business bankruptcy filings (thousands) | 35.5 | 40.1 | 38.5 | 35.0 | -- | 8.3 | 10.6 | 8.2 | 7.6 | -- |
| Proprietors' income (billions of dollars) | 728.4 | 771.9 | 769.6 | 834.1 | 902.4 | 864.7 | 872.1 | 901.4 | 902.9 | 933.1 |
| Prime bank loan rate | 9.2 | 6.9 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.9 |
| Rates for smallest loans (less than $100,000): | ||||||||||
| Variable rate loans, repricing terms of 2-30 days | 9.7 | 7.4 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.5 |
| Variable rate loans, repricing terms of 31-365 days | 9.9 | 8.7 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 6.5 |
| Senior loan officers (percent of respondents): | ||||||||||
| Net small firm C&I lending standards (those whose standards were eased minus those tightened) | -20.4 | -39.4 | -20.0 | -7.1 | +13.1 | +1.8 | +10.9 | +19.6 | +3.7 | +18.2 |
| Net small firm demand for C&I loans (those whose demand was stronger minus those weaker) | -3.3 | -36.6 | -40.0 | -14.7 | +25.9 | -3.9 | +21.8 | +38.1 | +38.9 | +25.5 |
| Venture Investment: | ||||||||||
| Number of deals | 8073 | 4617 | 3050 | 2847 | 2876 | 754 | 686 | 798 | 645 | 747 |
| Total invested (billions of dollars) | 105.9 | 41.0 | 21.6 | 18.9 | 20.9 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 4.6 | 5.3 |
Note: The fourth quarter figure for the Senior Loan Officers Survey is for October, which measures from July. C&I loans refers to commercial and industrial loans.
Sources: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; National Venture Capital Association; U.S. Bureau of Economic
Analysis.
| Last Five Years | Last Five Months | |||||||||
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| NFIB Small Business Optimism Index (1986 = 100) | 100.3 | 98.4 | 101.2 | 101.3 | 104.6 | 102.9 | 104.5 | 103.9 | 107.7 | 106.1 |
| NFIB: next 3 months "good time to expand" (percent of respondents) | 19.2 | 12.3 | 14.3 | 15.7 | 22.3 | 19 | 23 | 20 | 29 | 28 |
| NFIB: net percent planning to hire in the next 3 months | 15.6 | 11.6 | 10.8 | 10.2 | 15.3 | 19 | 14 | 15 | 19 | 17 |
| Self-employed, incorporated (millions) | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.0 |
| Self-employed, unincorporated (millions) | 10.2 | 10.1 | 9.9 | 10.3 | 10.4 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 10.4 |
Sources: National Federation of Independent Business; Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
