On January 8, 2015, The Conference Board and PwC released the 4th Quarter Measure Of CEO Confidence.   The overall measure of CEO Confidence was at 60, up from 59 in the third quarter. [note:  a reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive than negative responses]

Notable excerpts from this January 8 Press Release include:

CEOs’ assessment of current economic conditions was virtually unchanged. Approximately 52 percent claim conditions are better compared to six months ago, about the same as in the third quarter of 2014. Business leaders’ appraisal of conditions in their own industries increased slightly, with 43 percent saying conditions in their own industries have improved, compared with 41 percent in the previous quarter.

CEOs’ expectations regarding the short-term outlook were more optimistic. About 49 percent of business leaders anticipate economic conditions will improve over the next six months, up from 44 percent in the previous quarter. However, 46 percent expect conditions to remain the same. Expectations for their own industries remain subdued, with 36 percent of CEOs anticipating an improvement, up from 34 percent in the third quarter. About 53 percent expect no change in conditions.

The Business Roundtable also released its CEO Economic Outlook Survey for the 4th Quarter of 2014 last month.   Notable excerpts from the December 2 release, titled “CEOs Forecast Weak Economic Growth in 2015”:

The Business Roundtable fourth quarter 2014 CEO Economic Outlook Index ‒ which provides a picture of the future direction of the U.S. economy based upon CEOs’ plans for sales, capital spending and hiring ‒ declined moderately from the third quarter, with capital spending declining the most.

also:

CEOs said they expect 2015 gross domestic product growth of 2.4 percent, unchanged from their 2014 expectation.

also:

The Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Index – a composite index of CEO expectations for the next six months of sales, capital spending and employment – decreased moderately in the fourth quarter of 2014 to 85.1 from 86.4 in the third quarter of 2014. The long-term average of the Index is 80.3.

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Please note:  This was reprinted from the EconomicGreenfield.com (published by StratX, LLC) post of January 8, 2015, titled “CEO Confidence Surveys 4Q 2014 – Notable Excerpts”

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StratX, LLC offers the above commentary for informational purposes only, and does not necessarily agree with the views expressed by these outside parties.

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StratX, LLC is a management consulting firm and strategic advisory that focuses on the analysis of current and future weak(ening) economic conditions, and offers businesses and other entities advice, strategies, and actionable methods on how to optimally adapt to such challenging, complex conditions.