American Business Executives Pessimistic About Economy

American Business Executives Pessimistic About Economy

By: Daniel Steingold | September 13, 2016

A new survey has found that American executives are relatively pessimistic about the state of the economy for the coming six months.

The Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Index is a tool used to examine the views of America’s most influential CEOs six months into the future. The Index showed that expectations for hiring in the third quarter of the year have decreased from the previous quarter, while plans for capital spending have remained steady.

Overall, the Index slipped to 69.6, a mark well below its historical average of 79.6.

Doug Oberhelman, the CEO of Caterpillar, weighed in on one particular policy he’d like to see passed, saying, “We continue to push for pro-growth policies like TPP [Trans Pacific Partnership]. We will not give up on this.”

Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton oppose the TPP, although for what it’s worth, President Barack Obama has been a staunch proponent of the trade agreement.

Many business executives believe a large trade deal could reignite the lackluster economy. While experts predicted the economy would grow at a 2.2 percent rate for the year, it only demonstrated half of that annualized growth during the second quarter of this year.

The Federal Reserve seems a little more optimistic about the state of the economy, as is illustrated by their recent comments that a “reasonable case can be made” to raise interest rates.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, went so far as to say, “Let’s just raise rates… The Fed has to maintain credibility and I think it’s time to raise rates.”

Dimon may get his wish when the Fed meets next on September 21 and 22.


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