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Survey: Top CEOs report weaker economic outlook for 1Q
By MARCY GORDON AP Business Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top U S S CEOs reported Wednesday that their economic outlook weakened in in the the the first three months of the the year although it it remains above its historical average The Business Roundtable a a a a a a a a a lobbying organization of of major companies’ chief ex- ecutives also said its first-quarter survey of of CEOs showed strong support for Congress to create a a a a a a a a new national law governing consumer data privacy The group’s economic outlook index for the the January-March quarter quarter fell to 95 2 down from
104 4 4 in in the the fourth quarter quarter of of 2018 The lower reading however far exceeded the the index’s historical average of of 82 4 for the the ninth straight quarter The new survey showed that companies’ plans for capital investment in in in in the the next six months fell 6 9 percentage points since the the 2018 fourth quarter while sales expecta- tions dropped 9 6 percentage points The executives’ hiring plans for the next six months showed an an even more dramatic decrease of 11 3 percentage points A slowdown in in in manufacturing and
and
retail sluggish housing and
and
and
construction activity and
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global pressures including an an an ongoing trade war with China have damp- ened expectations for economic growth Still experts say the the economy remains on on on on on on on on strong ground as its expansion — — the the second-longest on on on on on on on on record — — continues The economy as as as measured by the gross domestic product grew 2 2 9 percent last year the the fastest pace since 2015 In the the the new survey 80 percent of the the the CEOs said it was “somewhat” or or or “very” important for Congress to craft and
enact a a a a a a a a a a a a a a national data privacy law As public concerns have risen over scan- dals and
and
aggressive use of personal data at at at companies like Facebook Amazon and
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Google European regulators have slapped huge penalties on U S tech companies California is putting in in a a a a a a a a a tough measure set to to take effect next year that will let the the state’s consumers request the the the data collected from
them and
opt out of future collection The tech industry is pushing for what it sees as the the lesser of the the evils: a a a a a a a new federal privacy law that would be less less stringent
than California’s and
take national prece- dence over it “This crazy patchwork quilt of different privacy regulations is is a a a a a a a big impedi- ment to to business and
to to innovation ” Josh Bolten a a a a a a former White House chief of of staff who is president of of the CEOs’ organiza- tion said in a a a a a conference call with report- ers The organization is is is proposing legislation that would establish a a a a a a a a a a a a basic standard for users’ individual privacy rights and
and
give businesses a a a a a common set of rules Bolten said Jamie Dimon CEO of of JPMorgan Chase and
and
chairman of of the the group said the the plans for capital spending and
and
hiring shown in in in in the the survey remain strong “a sign of con- tinued confidence in in in in the the American econo- my amid easing global growth forecasts ” Congress and
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the Trump administra- tion need to to enact policies to to expand free and
and
and
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fair trade invest in in in in in infrastructure and
and
and
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employee training and
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“fix our broken immigration system ” Dimon said 12 | TRENDING