The latest survey suggests that business leaders around the world are uneasy about the strength of the economic recovery despite increased optimism over their companies’ outlooks, according to Financial Times. On Tuesday, PricewaterhouseCoopers released the results of a poll of about 1,200 chief executive officers from around the world that showed 48% of respondents were “very confident” about growth prospects over the coming year. This figure is way up from only 21% at the onset of the financial crisis, and near the 52% posted at the peak of the credit bubble.
The survey also showed that the vast majority of CEO’s are looking for improving prospects for their companies, with 88% reporting “some” confidence in their outlook, which belies pessimism over the global economy as a whole. Almost three quarters of those surveyed said uncertain and unstable conditions could hurt the economy, with the recession, the sovereign debt crisis and financial regulation changes topping the list of potentially risky factors. The best prospects were recorded in emerging markets like Brazil, China, and India, although Germany saw 80% of executives feeling “very confident” about the coming year.
