Business Spending Plans Haven't Been This High Since December 2007

Capital spending is back at pre-recession levels.

On Tuesday morning, the NFIB published its latest small business optimism index, which showed that optimism in August rose to 96.1, the second-highest reading since October 2007.

The report's internals also had a piece of good news regarding one long-missing piece of the recovery: capital spending.

According to NFIB's report, 58% of survey respondents reported capital outlays, up 3 points from July and the second best reading since January 2008.

And the outlook for capital spending was even better, as the percent of owners planning capital outlays in the next 3 to 6 months rose to 27%, the best reading since December 2007. That was the last month of the last economic expansion.

In late August, we highlighted the increase in business investment seen with the second estimate for Q2 GDP, which showed investment rose 8.4%.

NFIB's report on Tuesday is yet another example that companies may have found the missing piece of the recovery puzzle.