Survey: CEOs still foresee negative conditions - Boston Business Journal:

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“This quarter’s results reflect a continuingt weak set ofeconomid conditions,” said Ivan Seidenberg, chairman of Business Roundtable and chairmanm and CEO of “Conditions — while still negativer — appear to have begumn to stabilize.” The Washington-basedf association of CEOs represents a combined work force of nearlh 10 million employees and more than $5 trillioh in annual sales. When askex how they anticipate their sales to fluctuate in the next six 34 percent said sales will and 46 percent predicteda decrease. That is a sunnier forecast thanthe first-quarter outlook survey, when 24 percen t predicted higher sales. Fifty-one percent said theird U.S.
capital spending will fall in theseconcd quarter, and 12 percent said it will Forty-nine percent expect their U.S. employment to decrease in the next six up fromthe first-quarter outlool survey, when 71 percent predicted a drop in employment. Six percen anticipate their employee base to Member CEOs estimated thatthe nation’s real groszs domestic product will drop by 2.1 percent in compared with the CEOs’ first-quarter estimate of a 1.9 percent The outlook index — whichg combines member CEO projections for sales, capitak spending and employment in the six monthsx ahead — expanded to 18.5 in the second up from -5 in the first quarter.
An indez reading of 50 or lower is consistent with overalloeconomic contraction, and a reading of 50 or higheer is consistent with expansion.