Shouldn't We Be Doing the Same?

Three weeks ago, we learned that the CEOs of large companies are growing concerned about the outlook.

“Survey: CEO Confidence in Economy Drops Dramatically” (The Hill)

The confidence of the nation’s business leaders in the future of the economy has dropped dramatically, according to a new survey by the Conference Board.

More CEOs surveyed view the economy negatively than positively. Only 17 percent viewed the economy positively in the second quarter of 2012, compared to 67 percent in the first quarter.

Only 20 percent expect an improvement in six months, down from 59 percent.

Two weeks ago, we learned that the owners of small businesses are growing concerned about the outlook.

“Another Blow to the Economy: Small-Business Optimism Sours” (MarketBeat)

Small-business owners are getting less optimistic, adding another worrisome piece of evidence to the already troubled economy.

A monthly report released earlier this morning showed optimism among small-business owners last month fell to the lowest level since October. In particular, folks are concerned about future sales and earnings growth over the next six months. Hiring conditions also dropped sharply.

The National Federation of Independent Business’s small-business optimism index dropped 3 points to 91.4 last month. NFIB called the drop a “susbstantial decline” and proclaimed the current reading as “surely an indication of slow growth.”

“This is a blow,” says Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. “The scale of the decline is disheartening.”

And, today we learned that the top executives of mid-sized firms are growing concerned about the outlook.

“Mid-Sized Companies Holding Back Investment” (Real Time Economics)

Mid-sized companies are holding onto cash and pulling back on investments in response to mounting fears of a global economic slowdown.

Only 12% of executives at mid-size companies — those with annual revenues between $10 million and $1 billion — were “confident” about the state of the U.S. economy in the second quarter, down from 15% in the first quarter, according to a survey of 1,000 CEOs and other top executives conducted by the National Center for the Middle Market. Unsurprisingly, executives had an even gloomier view of the situation overseas; just 5% of them were “confident” in the global economy, and 44% weren’t confident at all.

If the leaders of businesses of all sizes are growing concerned, shouldn’t we be doing the same?