Durham, NC, Sept. 10, 2008--Chief financial officers are more optimistic about the direction of the U.S. economy, but remain concerned about consumer demand and weak credit markets, according to a quarterly survey by Duke University/CFO Magazine .
Compared with the previous quarter, 28.5 percent said they were more optimistic about the U.S. economy, up more than 7 percentage points from June.
Those saying they are less optimistic fell to 41.5 percent, from more than half in the previous survey and more than 72 percent in March. About half expect the U.S. economy to begin recovering by the middle of 2009.
"There are signs that we are bottoming out," said the survey's director, John Graham, a professor at Duke's Fuqua School of Business.
However, many CFOs say they are cutting plans for capital spending and employment and 43 percent say the credit crunch is directly hurting their company.
Capital spending is expected to rise 0.6 percent over the next year, the survey found, down from 2.3 percent growth expected three months ago. Employment is seen declining 1.6 percent over the same period, a steeper decline than was previously expected.
CFOs named weak consumer demand as their most pressing concern, followed by credit markets and the cost of fuel, the survey found.
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| Houston, TX, Sept. 12, 2008--Koch Industries subsidiary Invista has begun to shut down temporarily three of its plants in south Texas because of hurricane Ike and told those employees not to report for work today.
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| New York, NY, Sept. 12, 2008--Consumer confidence has improved heading into fall, due partly to dips in gas prices and excitement over the presidential race, according to the Royal Bank of Canada Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Household Index.
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| Washington, DC, Sept. 12, 2008--About 2,000 JLA Home zebra rugs sold at JC Penney stores are being recalled because they do not meet the federal flammability standard for small rugs and do not have the required flammability warning label. |
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| Washington, DC, Sept. 11, 2008--The U.S. trade deficit rose in July to the highest level in 16 months as oil imports hit an all-time high, offsetting strong export growth. The deficit with China climbed to the second highest level on record. |
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| Washington, DC, Sept. 11, 2008-- Initial jobless claims for unemployment insurance were higher than expected last week, while total benefit rolls rose to the highest level in almost five years, according to the Labor Department. |
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British Builder Offers Unusual Incentive
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| London, England, Sept. 10, 2008--Barratt Developments PLC, Britain's second-biggest house builder by volume, said that full-year profits fell by 71 percent as the credit crunch depressed sales in the second half. |
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