For the first time in a year, a majority of respondents—51 percent—say economic conditions in their countries are better now than they were in September 2008, according to a survey in the field during the last week of October, a volatile week for stock markets.1 A larger share of executives also expects the good news to continue, with 47 percent expecting GDP growth to return to pre–September 2008 levels in 2010 or 2011, compared with 40 percent six weeks ago. Although the global news is good, there are marked regional differences; executives in the developed countries of Asia2 are generally the most optimistic, and those in Europe are the least.
However, a majority of executives around the world share the prevailing skepticism about consumers: when asked to name the biggest threat to future economic growth and to the growth of their own companies, more cite low consumer demand than anything else. Ineffective government regulation is the next biggest economic concern, respondents indicate, followed by losing business to low-cost competitors.
Looking ahead, respondents’ views on company profits and workforce size haven’t meaningfully changed in the past six weeks. Pluralities still expect increased profits in 2009 and no change in their workforces through the first quarter of 2010. Here, too, however, there are notable regional differences.
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