U.S. CEOs turning increasingly gloomy on business prospects
Janet Whitman, Financial Post
Published: Tuesday, April 07, 2009
NEW YORK -- Chief executives at the helm of some of the United States' biggest companies are turning increasingly gloomy about the prospects for their businesses, a survey released Tuesday found.
The Business Roundtable's "CEO confidence index" fell to -5 at the end of the first quarter, the first time it has dropped into negative territory since the survey began in 2002.
The survey slumped to 16.5 at the end of the fourth quarter, down from 78.8 at the end of the third quarter. A reading of 50 or lower indicates expectations the economy is shrinking, while 50 or more signals expectations for expansion.
"This is our darkest hour," said Harold McGraw, who is chairman of the Business Roundtable and chief executive of New York publishing company McGraw-Hill Cos.
Of the 100 U.S. CEOs polled, 71% said they expect to cut jobs at their companies in the next six months, while 67% expect their company sales to slump and 66% expect their capital spending to decrease.
CEOs forecast economic output in the United States to slip to -1.9% in 2009, down from expectations at the end of the fourth quarter that gross domestic product growth would be flat.
Janet Whitman, Financial Post
Published: Tuesday, April 07, 2009
NEW YORK -- Chief executives at the helm of some of the United States' biggest companies are turning increasingly gloomy about the prospects for their businesses, a survey released Tuesday found.
The Business Roundtable's "CEO confidence index" fell to -5 at the end of the first quarter, the first time it has dropped into negative territory since the survey began in 2002.
The survey slumped to 16.5 at the end of the fourth quarter, down from 78.8 at the end of the third quarter. A reading of 50 or lower indicates expectations the economy is shrinking, while 50 or more signals expectations for expansion.
"This is our darkest hour," said Harold McGraw, who is chairman of the Business Roundtable and chief executive of New York publishing company McGraw-Hill Cos.
Of the 100 U.S. CEOs polled, 71% said they expect to cut jobs at their companies in the next six months, while 67% expect their company sales to slump and 66% expect their capital spending to decrease.
CEOs forecast economic output in the United States to slip to -1.9% in 2009, down from expectations at the end of the fourth quarter that gross domestic product growth would be flat.
