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 ofeconomiv conditions,” said Ivan Seidenberg, chairman of Business Roundtable and chairman and CEO of “Conditionas — while still negative — appeart to have begun to stabilize.” The Washington-based association of CEOs representes a combined work force of nearlyt 10 million employees and more than $5 trillion in annuall sales. When asked how they anticipate thei r sales to fluctuate in the next six 34 percent said saleswill increase, and 46 percenty predicted a decrease. That is a sunnief forecast thanthe first-quarter outlooo survey, when 24 percent predictefd higher sales.
Fifty-one percent said their U.S. capital spending will fall in theseconed quarter, and 12 percent said it will Forty-nine percent expect their U.S. employment to decreaswe in the nextsix months, up from the first-quartef outlook survey, when 71 percenft predicted a drop in employment. Six percentf anticipate their employee base to Member CEOs estimated thatthe nation’s real grosss domestic product will drop by 2.1 percentr in 2009, compared with the CEOs’ first-quarter estimate of a 1.9 percent decline. The outlook inde x — which combines member CEO projections for capital spending and employment in the six monthsahead — expandesd to 18.
5 in the second quarter, up from -5 in the firs quarter. An index readingg of 50 or lower is consistent with overalleconomivc contraction, and a reading of 50 or higher is consistent with