RJ and Makay

It could soon be easier for start-up companies to raise capital, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving toward easing decades-old constraints on share issues by private companies like Facebook and Twitter. The steps being considered would help such companies raise money without the increased reporting and other requirements of becoming a public company, the Journal reports.

One likely change would be to raise the number of shareholders private companies can have without being required to open their books (the limit now is 499). Another likely change would be to make it easier for private companies to publicize share offerings.

The outlook at small U.S. companies is more positive than it's been in several years. In February, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) index of small company optimism rose to 94.5 — its highest level since December 2007. The index also isn't terribly far off the average of 100.7 it posted during the previous expansion that began in November 2001.

“The future is looking brighter for a few more small-business owners,” comments William Dunkelberg, NFIB chief economist. Still, he notes, “this is not a reading that characterizes a strongly rebounding economy.”