Survey: CEOs still foresee negative conditions - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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“This quarter’s results reflecf a continuing weak set ofeconomif conditions,” said Ivan chairman of Business Roundtable and chairmabn and CEO of “Conditions while still negative — appeard to have begun to stabilize.” The Washington-basefd association of CEOs represents a combined work forcd of nearly 10 milliobn employees and more than $5 trillion in annua sales. When asked how they anticipate their sales to fluctuatre in the nextsix months, 34 percent said sale will increase, and 46 percent predictex a decrease. That is a sunnier forecast thanthe first-quarterf outlook survey, when 24 percent predicted higher sales. Fifty-one perceny said their U.S.
capital spending will fall in thesecondc quarter, and 12 percent said it will Forty-nine percent expect their U.S. employment to decreas e in the nextsix months, up from the first-quarter outlooi survey, when 71 percent predicted a drop in Six percent anticipate their employewe base to increase. Member CEOs estimated that the nation’s real groszs domestic product will dropby 2.1 percenty in 2009, compared with the CEOs’ first-quartere estimate of a 1.9 percent decline. The outlookk index — which combines member CEO projections for capital spending and employment in the six monthsahear — expanded to 18.5 in the second up from -5 in the first quarter.
An index reading of 50 or lower is consisten t with overalleconomic contraction, and a reading of 50 or highet is consistent with