I'm thinking of all the "experts", we might want to listen to these folks above the rest.
Most financial executives expect the pace of U.S. growth in the second half of 2006 to hold steady, according to the latest survey from accounting firm Grant Thornton.
Who better to know what's going on within a company than the ones with their hands on the purse strings.
This is rather encouraging.
The poll of 381 U.S. chief financial officers and comptrollers showed 59 percent felt the economy will tread water for the remainder of the year, while 28 percent expect it will worsen. Just 13 percent of executives polled felt the economy would improve in the second half.
Is it just me or is the tone of the writer a bit off. "Tread water"? That seems to be an oddly negative choice of words when the economy is chugging along nicely. In fact the Fed has spent most of the past year and and half raising interest rates trying to keep the economy from overheating. 13 percent thought the economy would "improve"? Does that seem to suggest that there's currently something wrong with the economy.
Sorry, I digress.
In terms of their own businesses, about 50 percent felt their company's financial prospects will remain the same for the rest of the year, while 37 percent said they expect their companies to improve. Only 13 percent saw clouds on the horizon for their own companies.
This takes it out of the realm of generalities and starts to get specific. But this gets very specific.
Despite fears on Wall Street of a slowing economy, the executives polled by Grant Thornton also said they were not feeling much pressure from high energy prices. Many felt comfortable raising prices.
That's a telltale sign. And a good one. It means they feel comfortable about consumers and their ability to pay.
The majority of executives felt high energy prices would not hurt their companies in the second half, and a third of those polled said they are comfortable increasing prices or fees later this year.
Man, I wonder what they're thinking now that energy prices have fallen so significantly?
On the hiring front, 55 percent of those polled said they will continue to hire at the same level as earlier in the year, and 29 percent said they will boost hiring.
Again, this is very good news. The folks counting the beans have spoken.
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