Business Leaders Still Very Pessimistic
NEW YORK, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Chief Executive magazine's CEO Index, the nation's only monthly CEO Index, quietly rebounded in January according to 543 top executives surveyed. In January, all components of the CEO Index increased after three months of record declines.
The CEO Confidence Index rose 10.3 points, or 20 percent, to 51.2 points, in January in what was its greatest improvement since September 2008. The Employment Confidence Index, a sub-index used to calculate overall confidence in the job market, increased 60 percent, from 22 to 35.3 points; and the Business Condition Index increased to 27 points from 16.8, a 60 percent increase from last month.
"While the recent uptick is encouraging, it does not imply that CEOs have started to gain confidence in the economic environment," said Edward M. Kopko, CEO and Publisher of Chief Executive magazine. "The low reading of the employment confidence, despite the increase in January, is suggestive of a continued poor labor market over the coming months."
According to the survey, many CEOs believe that if they can use the current economic conditions to their advantage they will come out triumphant in the end. As such, this month, 41.6 percent of respondents rated current investment opportunities as "good," a 10.3 percent increase from last month. While 44.5 percent said they would consider them "bad," a 10.3 percent decrease from previous polling. "Now is an excellent time to be a well capitalized buyer of companies. We are actively negotiating for additional acquisitions," said Steve Townes, CEO of Ranger Aerospace.
For additional information regarding the confidence of public and private-company CEOs, details about CEO attitudes on employment, investment and business conditions, visit our full report at http://www.chiefexecutive.net/ceoindex.
About Chief Executive Magazine
Chief Executive is a controlled circulation magazine that has been published since 1977. It reaches 42,000 chief executive officers and their peers, reaches a total readership of 220,000. Chief Executive Group facilitates "Chief Executive of the Year," a prestigious honor bestowed upon an outstanding corporate leader, nominated and selected by a group of his or her peers. Anne Mulcahy, Bob Ulrich, A. G. Lafley, George David, Fred Smith, Bill Gates, John Chambers, Michael Dell and Sandy Weill are just some of the leaders who have been honored during the award's 23-year history. Chief Executive also organizes roundtable meetings and conferences to foster opportunities for top corporate officers to discuss key subjects and share their experiences within a community of peers. Visit www.chiefexecutive.net for more information.
CEO Index, January 2009
Respondents: 543
Index January, December, Monthly
2009 2008 Change
CEO Index 51.2 40.9 10.3
Current Confidence Index 62 52.1 9.9
Future Confidence Index 43.9 33.3 10.6
Business Condition Index 27 16.8 10.2
Invest Confidence Index 84.4 76.2 8.2
Employment Confidence Index 35.3 22 13.3
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