ZCZC
BCN-19
US-ENTERPRISES-ECONOMY
US CEO sentiment falls amid slowing global growth
NEW YORK, March 21, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Business sentiment among large US
companies fell for the fourth straight quarter, according to a report on
Wednesday that highlighted worries about slowing growth outside the United
States.
The economic outlook rating among US chief executives declined to 95.2 in
the first quarter from 104.4 in the third quarter, according to the Business
Roundtable.
Roundtable Chairman Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase,
said sentiment was dented by weakness in the fourth quarter in overseas
economies, including Germany and Japan.
Dimon also said Brexit uncertainty posed a near-term risk, adding that
Britain’s travails over its impending divorce from the European Union had
been a “negative for a while” and that “there’s a growing risk in 10 days
that you’ll have a so-called ‘hard Brexit.'”
Plans for capital investment and hiring and sales expectations all declined
compared with the prior quarter.
However, all three categories remain high by historical standards, said the
lobbying group, which is composed of the leaders of Apple, General Motors,
IBM and other US giants.
Roundtable President Joshua Bolten said CEOs were “overwhelmingly positive
about the US but a little tentative about the rest of the world.”
Bolten said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the prospects of a US-
China trade deal following recent progress on the talks between the two
countries.
The business lobby plans to meet with US Trade Representative Robert
Lighthizer this week at a quarterly meeting, he said.
“It would be a big positive” to have tariffs removed and for the United
States and China to reach a trade deal that protects intellectual property
and addresses other longstanding US corporate criticisms of China, Bolten
added.
BSS/AFP/HR/1005