If you always wondered what the view from the top was like, this might be of interest.
A survey by Business Roundtable released Monday showed that executive expectations for sales, capital spending and employment — while all decent — are lower than in a previous survey released earlier this summer.
So again, the numbers aren't as good as expected. Does that mean they're bad?
More of my annoying questions, I'm afraid.
“The outlook of the CEOs in this survey suggests that the pace of growth in the U.S. economy is slowing down,” said Harold McGraw III, chairman of the Business Roundtable and chief of The McGraw-Hill Companies.
So, I'm confused. Is the economy slowing down, or is it the opinion of the CEO's that's a little depressed?
In the survey, 74 percent of the chief executives said they expected their sales to increase over the next six months. That was down from 82 percent in June.
That should still frighten the pants off GSM's (General Sales Managers) everywhere.
On capital spending — a key ingredient for healthy economic activity — 39 percent said they expected to boost such spending over the next six months. That was down from 48 percent in the previous survey. Half of the executives in the current survey said they expected no change in their capital investment plans, while 11 percent expected a cut.
Still, all in all, not bad.
In terms of hiring in the months ahead, 32 percent of the chiefs said they expected to step up payrolls. That was down from 41 percent in the prior survey. Meanwhile, 39 percent in the current survey said they expected to hold employment steady and 29 percent thought they would shed workers.
OK, so those numbers are a cause for a little concern. What they also tell me is that workforce expenditures are a big economic issue - maybe the biggest - CEO's face, and it's a quick way to lighten a company's load.
“Although the CEOs’ projections for sales, capital spending and employment still indicate positive growth, we believe that we are beginning to see the effects of energy and interest rate pricing pressures reflected in the business outlook,” McGraw said.
With the easing of fuel prices, maybe that outlook will get a little better.
Economic growth through the rest of this year is expected to stay subdued, at a pace of around 2.5 percent, according to economists’ projections.
"Subdued" I can handle. It's when everybody seems to be giddy that I get a little nervous.
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