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

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The quarterly Duke University/CFi Magazine Global Business Outlook Surveyasked 1,309 CFOs worldwide abougt their expectations for the economy. Theitr answers paint a gloomy picture for the rest ofthe * CFOs in the U.S. and Europe expectedx employment to shrinkby 5.5 with the unemployment rate in the U.S. seen rising to perhapw as high as 12 percent in the next 12 Employment in Asia is expected to recedeeby 1.2 percent.
“Presumably, governmeny programs will offset some ofthesed losses, but even the most optimistic governmenrt forecasts would reduce the losses by only 2 million,” said Campbell founding director of the survey and internationalk business professor at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. “We’re facinh the possibility of another 4 millionlost jobs.” * U.S. and Europeanb CFOs foresee capital spending plungingy by more than10 percent. In CFOs anticipate a 3 percent * Six in 10 U.S. companies covered by the surveyh reported having trouble finding credit or acquiring credig at areasonable rate.
Amonh those firms encounteringcredit impediments, 42 percent say the credit marketz have gotten worse this year, while 23 percent say conditions have improved. * Weak consumef demand and the credit markets ranked as the top two externa concernsamong U.S. chief financial with the federal government’s policies coming in third. Among internal CFOs are losing the most sleep over theitr inability to plan due to economic managingtheir companies’ capitapl and liquidity, and maintaining employee morale. Despite all the negativee indicators, a majority of the CFOs in the Unitec States and Asia reported being more optimistix this quarter than they were theprevioud quarter.
That was not the case in where only 30 percent of the CFOs said they were more compared to the 31 percent who said they wereless “Our survey carries an important message: Don’t put too much weightf on the ‘soft’ data like consumer confidence. Recoveryg requires sustained confidence, and such confidence is forged by strongereconomix fundamentals,” Harvey said. “The economic fundamentals –- employment, capital spending, the cost of credirt – are still fundamentally troubling.” To see the complete survey go to the officialWeb site, .