U.S. CEO Confidence On The Rise

Jan. 12, 2006
U.S. chief executive officers are "cautiously optimistic" about their own companies, their industry and the national economy, the Conference Board said Jan. 12. The business research group said its quarterly CEO confidence index rose to 56 in the fourth ...

U.S. chief executive officers are "cautiously optimistic" about their own companies, their industry and the national economy, the Conference Board said Jan. 12. The business research group said its quarterly CEO confidence index rose to 56 in the fourth quarter from 50 in the third quarter. The index was 61 in the fourth quarter of 2004 and peaked at 73 in the first quarter of 2004.

"Much of the improvement in confidence can be attributed to the resiliency of the economy post-Katrina and the recent declines in fuel prices," said Lynn Franco, research chief of the Conference Board.

"Despite the rebound, CEOs were less confident at the close of 2005 than at the start. Looking ahead, they are cautiously optimistic, but not as optimistic about the short-term outlook as they were at the end of 2004."

The CEOs expect to raise their prices by an average of 3.4% in 2006.

CEOs' assessment of current conditions improved, with some 44% saying economic conditions are better, up from 34% in the third quarter.

The executives were also more optimistic about the short-term outlook than they were in the third quarter of 2005. Nearly 41% of business leaders expected economic conditions to improve in the next six months, up from 34% last quarter.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Empowering the Modern Workforce: The Power of Connected Worker Technologies

March 1, 2024
Explore real-world strategies to boost worker safety, collaboration, training, and productivity in manufacturing. Emphasizing Industry 4.0, we'll discuss digitalization and automation...

3 Best Practices to Create a Product-Centric Competitive Advantage with PRO.FILE PLM

Jan. 25, 2024
Gain insight on best practices and strategies you need to accelerate engineering change management and reduce time to market. Register now for your opportunity to accelerate your...

How Manufacturers Can Optimize Operations with Weather Intelligence

Nov. 2, 2023
The bad news? Severe weather has emerged as one of the biggest threats to continuity and safety in manufacturing. The good news? The intelligence solutions that build weather ...

Transformative Capabilities for XaaS Models in Manufacturing

Feb. 14, 2024
The manufacturing sector is undergoing a pivotal shift toward "servitization," or enhancing product offerings with services and embracing a subscription model. This transition...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!