We have been talking to many of our customers and have seen a consistent trend among our small sample size – Q4 is going to be a good quarter. Of course, that doesn’t do much for the last few days of this quarter and Q3, but it is a good sign.
Now CNNMoney.com has an article that may have a significantly larger sample size:
The Business Roundtable is an association of CEOs of major corporations, representing a combined work force of more than 10 million employees and $4.5 trillion in annual revenues.
Here is the takeaway from this group (my bold):
At the same time, a survey by the Business Roundtable, released Wednesday, showed that most executives expect sales and capital investment to remain at current levels or even improve over the next six months.
That’s consistent with expectations from the Federal Reserve and other economists who say they think the fragile economy will strengthen later this year and into next year – even as the nation’s unemployment rate, a lagging indicator of business health, rises. As in the past, many employers won’t want to ramp up hiring until they are sure the economy is really back on a firm footing.
…
In the survey, 91% said they expected their sales to hold steady or increase over the next six months, the same percentage as the old survey. Nine percent said they expected sales to go down – also the same as the previous reading.
However, you have to give CNN credit for their spin. The headline of the article: