Executives Are Losing Confidence In The Economy

The sagging economy continues to hit business right where it hurts the most – in the products and services sector. Optimism among the CEO’s of this critical sector is waning further which portends more sluggish growth in the economy well into next year. See the following post from The Street.

Private companies are feeling less confident about the prospects for the U.S. economy, with only 45% of executives surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers expressing optimism about the coming 12 months.

The drop - down to 45% voicing optimism in the most recent quarter vs 51% in the previous quarter, is the result of lingering economic uncertainty and concern about new taxes and regulations, Ken Esch, a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers' Private Company Services practice, said in a statement.

PricewaterhouseCoopers' Private Company Trendsetter Barometer tracks the views of 250 chief executive officers and chief financial officers in the product and service sectors, with companies averaging $290.8 million in enterprise revenue/sales.

"Trendsetter CEOs continue to experience a challenging pricing environment for goods and services due to economic pressure at home and abroad," Esch said.

Here are highlights from the survey:

--Concern about demand was cited by 78% of respondents compared with 74% in the previous survey.

--Concern about increased taxation was cited by 52% compared with 45% previously.

--54% plan to add employees to their workforce over the next 12 months; 44% plan no change and 2 % plan to reduce their workforce

--29% plan major capital investments over the next 12 months, down from 32% previously.

This post by Glenn Hall has been republished from The Street, an investment news and analysis site.