WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is the text of the Conference
Board’s Third Quarter CEO Confidence survey, published Friday:

CEO Confidence Declines, The Conference Board Reports

NEW YORK, October 8, 2010The Conference Board Measure of CEO
Confidence, which was unchanged in the second quarter of 2010, declined
in the third quarter. The Measure now reads 50, down from 62 last
quarter (a reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive than
negative responses).

Says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer
Research Center: “CEO confidence has cooled considerably in the second
half of 2010, as has the U.S. economy. And, expectations are that this
slow pace of economic growth will continue into early 2011. Regarding
capital spending plans, the news was a bit more favorable with three out
of every ten chief executives saying they had increased capital spending
plans since the start of this year, a significant improvement from last
year when only 7 percent reported increases.”

CEOs’ appraisal of current economic conditions was much less
favorable in the third quarter. Less than one-third say conditions have
improved compared to six months ago, down from about two-thirds last
quarter. In assessing their own industries, business leaders’ appraisal
was also considerably less positive. Now, only 38 percent say conditions
are better, compared with 61 percent last quarter.

CEOs are much more pessimistic about the short-term outlook. Only
22 percent of business leaders expect economic conditions to improve in
the next six months, down from 48 percent last quarter. Expectations for
their own industries are also downbeat, with about 28 percent of CEOs
anticipating an improvement in the months ahead, down from 43 percent
last quarter.

Capital Spending Plans Improve in 2010

Two out of every ten business executives report scaling back on
their companies’ capital spending plans since January of this year,
while three out of ten have increased spending, based on a supplementary
question asked each year in the third quarter. This is a considerable
change from last year, when just 7 percent of chief executives had
increased capital spending plans and 58 percent had made cuts. Among the
reasons given for increasing capital investment plans, the most common
was an increase in sales volume. A decline in sales volume was one of
the top reasons for a decrease in spending plans.

Survey results were fielded from mid-August to mid-September.

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

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