By Ian McKendry

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Chief executive officers from the nation’s
largest companies are optimistic that sales, capital spending, and
hiring will pick up over the next six months, a survey from the Business
Roundtable suggested Tuesday.

Chairman of the Roundtable, Verizon Communication’s Ivan
Seidenburg, said he believes the optimism is derived from the belief
that structural issues that have been slowing the economy will get
resolved.

Seidenberg, on a conference call with reporters, said he thinks oil
and gas prices will moderate, there will be some movement on the U.S’s
debt problems and that international tax disparities and regulatory
oversight issues will be addressed.

Seidenberg said he thought the budget and debt debates on Capitol
Hill are a positive rather than a negative and that CEOs are
anticipating that the “structural issues that have been dogging the
economy will begin to clear up.”

“That is the reason for optimism in our survey,” Seidenberg said.

The BRT survey index fell 3.1 points in the second quarter of 2011
to a level of 109.9, however, CEOs optimism on the economy over the
next six months was relatively unchanged.

Eighty-seven percent of CEOs surveyed said they expected sales to
improve over the next six months apposed to 92% in the first quarter,
61% thought capital spending would increase apposed to 62% in the first,
and 51% said they thought they would increase hiring compared to 52% in
the first.

Seidenberg said 135 CEOs responded to the survey which he said was
an “extraordinarily high number”.

Discussing employment, Seidenberg said he thought hiring at larger
BRT member companies has been stronger, adding, “I think in the broader
economy when you look at small and medium business that is where we
haven’t seen as much job formation.”

Seidenberg also said while oil and gas prices have receded, “I
still think that particularly from a consumer side of all BRT members,
oil and gas prices are still high.”

John Engler, president of the BRT, who was also on the call with
Seidenberg said while CEOs are optimistic that an array of structural
issues will be addressed, actual events could cool optimism.

For instance, Engler said “I think there is expectations Congress
is going to act on trade agreements, that those will get done. If those
do not get done, that would be cold water on the recovery.”

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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