Posts Tagged ‘Business’

CEO Confidence Up; Consumer Confidence Down (again)

April 4, 2011 – #7

Leaders of America’s largest companies are growing more optimistic – expecting higher sales, more hiring and increasing capital expenditures, according to a just-released survey of 142 CEOs by the Business Roundtable.

Optimism among CEOs has shown a steady rise since the third quarter of 2010, now at its highest point since the EDI’s inception in 2003.  [Source:  Business Roundtable]

Meanwhile, consumer confidence once again can’t seem to get traction to the upside. After hitting a three-month high in February at 72, the Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 63.4 in March – its lowest point in 13 months.

The heart of the big disconnect between CEOs and just about everyone else can be found in Americans’ persistent unease about jobs – getting them, keeping them, replacing sidetracked careers with new opportunities that are just as promising as what we had.  SCAN findings confirm lingering job worries.

In 2010, 46% of employed Americans said “If I lost my job, it would be hard for me to get one as good as the one I have now”

Four years ago – in 2006 – only 30% felt that way.

More and more, we are seeing a cultural chasm between how those at the top and those who make up the larger population experience this economy

Business Implications: What does it mean for marketers?  Up-and-down consumer confidence captures the sense that most consumers can’t get a psychological foothold on a more certain path.  We’re eagerly seeking brands now that give us a sure-thing base with fewer complex risks to process as we chart our way to feeling more comfortable, optimistic, maybe even lighthearted again.

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