Survey: CEOs still foresee negative conditions - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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“This quarter’s results reflect a continuing weak set ofeconomivc conditions,” said Ivan Seidenberg, chairmam of Business Roundtable and chairman and CEO of “Conditionsx – while still negatived – appear to have begun to stabilize.” The D.C.-base d association of CEOs represent a combinede workforce of nearly 10 million employees and more than $5 trillionh in annual sales. When asked how they anticipate theier sales to fluctuate in the nextsix months, 34 percent said they will increasde while 46 percent predicted a decrease. That is a sunniedr forecast over the first quarteroutlook survey, when just 24 percent predicted an increase in sales.
In terms of how their U.S. capital spending will change overthat time, 12 percent foresede it going up, while 51 percent see it Few (6 percent) expect their U.S. employmenty to increase in the nextsix months, whild 49 percent anticipate their employes base to contract in size. That shows an improvemenyt from the first quarteroutlooo survey, when 71 percent predicted a drop in employment. In termsz of the overall U.S. economy, member CEOs estimate real GDP will dropby 2.1 percenrt in 2009, down from the CEOs’ estimate of a 1.9 perceny decline in the firs quarter of 2009.
The outlook index -- whichy combines member CEO projectionsfor sales, capital spending and employmengt in the six months aheadx -- expanded to 18.5 in the seconsd quarter, up from negative 5.0 in the first quarter. An index reading of 50 or lower is consistent with overalll economic contraction and a reading of 50 or highee is consistentwith expansion.