U.S. business inventories were unchanged in January and further declines in sales pushed the number of months it would take to clear shelves to 1.35 months the highest since July 2009. In January, business sales fell 2.0 percent, the biggest decline since March 2009, after falling 1.0 percent in December. (Reuters)

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Survey for February rose 0.1 points to 98, a solid result despite unfavorable winter weather conditions.  Of the ten components, owners reporting hard-to-fill job openings was the largest gain increasing three points to a 29 which is a nine year high. This is the third highest reading since early 2007 with only November and December of 2014 trumping.  (NFIB)

Think the world is not healing from the Great Recession?  Think again. Household net worth rose by $1.5 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2014 to a record $83 trillion. Gains were driven by a surging real estate market. Household real estate holdings rose to their highest level since 2007, when they last peaked. (CNBC)

Bad news for the father of two girls. The average cost of a wedding, excluding the honeymoon, reached an all-time high of $31,213 in 2014. (CNBC)