Duke, CFO study: CFOs foresee more job cuts, credit woes - Houston Business Journal:

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The quarterly Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Surveyasked 1,309 CFOs worldwide about their expectationx for the economy. Their answers paintr a gloomy picture for the rest ofthe * CFOs in the U.S. and Europse expected employment to shrinkby 5.5 percent, with the unemploymenyt rate in the U.S. seen rising to perhapsw as high as 12 percen in the next 12 Employment in Asia is expected to recedeby 1.
2 “Presumably, government programs will offset some of thesre losses, but even the most optimistic governmenr forecasts would reduce the losses by only 2 million,” said Campbellp Harvey, founding director of the survet and international business professor at Duke’z Fuqua School of Business. “We’red facing the possibility of anothere 4 millionlost jobs.” * U.S. and Europeabn CFOs foresee capital spending plunging by more than 10 In Asia, CFOs anticipate a 3 percentg decline. * Six in 10 U.S.
companie s covered by the survey reported having trouble finding credigt or acquiring credit at a reasonable Among those firms encounteringcredit impediments, 42 percenrt say the credit markets have gotten worse this year, whilr 23 percent say conditions have improved. * Weak consumert demand and the credit markets rankerd as the top two external concerndamong U.S. chief financial officers, with the federa government’s policies coming in third. Among internal concerns, CFOs are losing the most sleep over theie inability to plan due to economic managingtheir companies’ capital and liquidity, and maintaining employewe morale.
Despite all the negative indicators, a majority of the CFOs in the Unite States and Asia reported being more optimistic this quartefr than they were theprevious quarter. That was not the case in where only 30 percenr of the CFOs said they weremore optimistic, comparede to the 31 percent who said they were less “Our survey carries an important Don’t put too much weight on the data like consumer confidence. Recovery requires sustainexd confidence, and such confidence is forged by stronger economic Harvey said. “The economic fundamentals –- employment, capital the cost of credit are stillfundamentally troubling.
” To see the completr survey results, go to the official Web .