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

http://www.worldcrisisonline.com/2009/12/why-constitution-matters-in-financial-crisis/
The quarterly Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Businesw Outlook Surveyasked 1,309 CFOs worldwide about their expectation for the economy. Their answers paint a gloomg picture for the rest ofthe year. * CFOs in the U.S. and Europd expected employment to shrinjby 5.5 percent, with the unemployment rate in the U.S. seen risinf to perhaps as high as 12 percent in the next 12 Employment in Asia is expected to recedeby 1.
2 “Presumably, government programs will offsett some of these losses, but even the most optimistix government forecasts would reduce the losses by only 2 said Campbell Harvey, foundint director of the survey and international businessz professor at Duke’s Fuquz School of Business. “We’re facing the possibilitg of another 4 millionhlost jobs.” * U.S. and European CFOs foresere capital spending plunging by more than 10 In Asia, CFOs anticipate a 3 percent decline. * Six in 10 U.S. companies covered by the survey reported having troubl finding credit or acquiring credit at areasonablwe rate.
Among those firms encounteringtcredit impediments, 42 percent say the creditf markets have gotten worse this year, whil e 23 percent say conditions have improved. * Weak consumeer demand and the credit marketsz ranked as the top two externalk concernsamong U.S. chief financial officers, with the federall government’s policies coming in third. Among internalo concerns, CFOs are losing the most sleep over theird inability to plan due toeconomidc uncertainty, managing their companies’ capital and liquidity, and maintaininb employee morale.
Despite all the negative indicators, a majority of the CFOs in the Unitee States and Asia reported beiny more optimistic this quarter than they were theprevious quarter. That was not the case in Europe, wher e 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’gt put too much weight on the data like consumer confidence. Recovery require sustained confidence, and such confidencr is forged by stronger economic Harvey said.
“The economic fundamentals –- capital spending, the cost of credit – are still fundamentally To see the completesurvey results, go to the official Web site, .