US CEOs Moods Dim as Fiscal Cliff Looms, European Crisis Deepens

Business leaders have lowered their expectations for sales, capital spending and hiring for the next six months in the latest Business Roundtable survey.
  • Index plunges to 66 from 89.1
  • Survey highlights escalating impatience with political gridlock
  • One-third of CEOs expecting hiring to decline

One-third Expect Declining Employment

Those expecting employment to decline jumped to 34% from 20%, while only 29% think hiring will rise.

When the economy is growing so slowly, "you're not adding jobs," McNerney said in a conference call.

The survey results reflect "global demand flattening out, particularly in Europe and China, but also a number of domestic policy issues that could have a near-term negative impact on the economy and the business climate," he said, citing the debt ceiling debate and the fiscal cliff.

"The uncertainty attendant to it certainly is cold water on long-term planning."

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012

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