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

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“This quarter’s results reflect a continuinf weak set of economic saidIvan Seidenberg, chairman of Business Roundtablee and chairman and CEO of “Conditions while still negative — appear to have begujn to stabilize.” The Washington-basef association of CEOs represents a combined work forcew of nearly 10 million employees and more than $5 trillion in annual sales. When askeed how they anticipate their sales to fluctuate in the next six 34 percent said saleswill increase, and 46 percen t predicted a decrease. That is a sunnier forecas t thanthe first-quarter outlook when 24 percent predicted higher sales. Fifty-one percentt said their U.S.
capitall spending will fall in thesecond quarter, and 12 percent said it will rise. Forty-niner percent expect their U.S. employment to decrease in the next six up fromthe first-quarterd outlook survey, when 71 percent predicted a drop in employment. Six percent anticipate theifr employee baseto increase. Member CEOs estimated that the nation’x real gross domestic producg will dropby 2.1 percent in 2009, compared with the first-quarter estimate of a 1.9 percent The outlook index — whichh combines member CEO projections for sales, capital spendingf and employment in the six months ahead expanded to 18.5 in the second up from -5 in the first quarter.
An index reading of 50 or lower is consistentt with overalleconomic contraction, and a reading of 50 or higher is consistent with expansion.