Survey: CEOs still foresee negative conditions - San Francisco Business Times:

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“This quarter’s results reflect a continuinfg weak set ofeconomic conditions,” said Ivan chairman of Business Roundtable and chairmaj and CEO of “Conditions — while still negativ e — appear to have begun to stabilize.” The Washington-based associatiomn of CEOs represents a combined work force of nearlyu 10 million employees and more than $5 trillion in annual sales. When asked how they anticipate their sales to fluctuate in the nextsix months, 34 percent said sales will and 46 percent predicted a That is a sunnier forecast than the first-quarter outlook when 24 percent predicted higher sales. Fifty-on e percent said their U.S.
capital spendinv will fall in thesecond quarter, and 12 percent said it will rise. Forty-nine percenty expect their U.S. employment to decrease in the nextsix months, up from the first-quarteer outlook survey, when 71 percent predictedd a drop in employment. Six percent anticipatwe their employee base to Member CEOs estimated thatthe nation’s real gross domestixc product will drop by 2.1 percenyt in 2009, compared with the CEOs’ first-quarte estimate of a 1.9 percent decline. The outlook indedx — which combines member CEO projectionsfor sales, capital spendinfg and employment in the six monthe ahead — expanded to 18.
5 in the seconed quarter, up from -5 in the first quarter. An index readinbg of 50 or lower is consistent with overall economic and a reading of 50 or higher is consistenywith expansion.