he decline was led by approved SBA gross lending volume and the Russell microcap index. President and CEO, Barry Sloane said, "The SB Authority index has been increasing over the past 16 months and we are sorry to report the streak of increases from the previous month has been broken as The SB Authority index is down slightly from March 2012. As in most cases, financial markets lead the economy.

The leading causes for the indexes decline in the last month was fueled by equity prices in the Russell microcap index and approved SBA gross lending volumes. Liquidity and financing are the mothers' milk of the economy and the reduced cost of equity capital and availability in debt could be a precursor to weak economic activity in the small business market. Unless these capital market factors reverse course, this may be a caution for weaker economic statistics going forward."

About Newtek Business Services, Inc. Newtek Business Services, The Small Business Authority, provides the following products and services: -- Electronic Payment Processing: eCommerce, electronic solutions to accept non-cash payments, including credit and debit cards, check conversion, remote deposit capture, ACH processing, and electronic gift and loyalty card programs.  business technology