Business Roundtable: CEOs Expecting Improved Sales, See Healthcare as Top Concern
CEOs see healthcare as top cost pressure
The results of Business Roundtable’s fourth quarter 2009 CEO Economic Outlook Survey are out, and they show that the CEOs of America’s leading companies anticipate increased capital expenditures and sales in the next six months –but they do not expect employment to significantly improve.
When asked about cost pressures, the CEOs cited healthcare as their top concern for the first half of 2010. In all, about one-third of CEOs named healthcare costs as having the greatest impact. The CEOs polled also expect pressure from pension, labor, litigation, energy and materials expenditures. (See illustration above.)
“The economy is in the throes of a long transition back to health; recovery will be long, extending beyond 2010,” says Ivan G. Seidenberg, Chairman of Business Roundtable and Chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications. “The outlook of our CEOs reflects that reality: we see noticeable gains in sales and capital spending, but employment growth continues to lag.”
The survey’s Index continues to expand in Q4. The Index is a composite diffusion index that combines member CEO projections for sales, capital spending, and employment in the six months ahead. Centered on 50, the results can range from negative 50 to positive 150. An Index reading of 50 or lower is consistent with overall economic contraction, and a reading of 50 or higher is consistent with expansion.
Survey Date CEO Economic Outlook Index
2009 Q4 71.5
2009 Q3 44.9
2009 Q2 18.5
2009 Q1 -5.0
2008 Q4 16.5
