Anxiety Does Not Quell CEO Optimism.

AuthorDavies, Mike
PositionBUSINESS & FINANCE - Survey

A RECORD-BREAKING share of CEOs are optimistic about the economic environment worldwide, at least in the short term. That is one of the key findings of PwC's 21st survey of almost 1,300 CEOs around the world.

Fifty-seven percent of business leaders say they believe global economic growth will improve in the next several months. It is almost twice the level of last year (29%) and the largest ever increase since PwC began asking about global growth in 2012.

Optimism in global growth has more than doubled in the U.S. (59%) after a period of uncertainty surrounding the election (2017:24%). Brazil also saw a large increase in the share of CEOs who are optimistic global growth will improve (+38% to 80%). Even among the less-optimistic countries, such as Japan (2018: 38% vs. 2017: 11%) and the United Kingdom (2018: 36% vs. 2017:17%), optimism in global growth has more than doubled since last year.

"CEOs' optimism in the global economy is driven by the economic indicators being so strong. With the stock markets booming and [gross domestic product] predicted to grow in most major markets around the world, it's no surprise CEOs are so bullish," comments Bob Moritz, global chairman of PwC.

This optimism in the economy is feeding into CEOs' confidence about their own companies' outlook, even if the up tick is not so large. Some 42% percent of CEOs say they are "very confident" in their own organization's growth prospects over the next 12 months, up from 38% last year.

Looking at the results by country, it is a mixed bag. CEOs' outlook improved in several key markets including in Australia (up four percent to 46%) and China (up four percent to 40%), where the share of CEOs saying they are "very confident" in their own organization's 12-month growth prospects rose.

In the U.S., CEOs' confidence has recovered. After election nerves last year, the early focus on regulation and tax reform by the new Administration has seen confidence in business growth prospects rising significantly--from 39% in 2017 to 52% in 2018. Moreover, North America is the only region where a majority of CEOs are "very confident" about their own 12-month prospects.

In the UK, with Brexit negotiations only recently reaching a significant milestone, business leaders' drop in short-term confidence is unsurprising (2018: 34% vs. 2017:41%).

The top three most-confident sectors for their own 12-month prospects this year are Technology (48% "very confident"), Business Services (46%), and...

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