According to a Conference Board poll released on Friday, nearly eight of the top 10 executives, from North America to Europe via Asia and Latin America, expect a decline in their business, with some saying it is already raging. The US Institute for Economic Research surveyed 750 CEOs and senior executives. About 61% of them think that the recession is near, at best by the end of 2023, while 15% think that the slowdown is already underway. Recession is determined by two-quarters of the negative evolution of GDP.
On the head of inflation
The poll was conducted from May 10 to 24, before the US Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to sharply raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage points, which caused the stock market to fear a recession. «Historically high energy prices, further supply chain disruptions, growing geopolitical risks, and declining consumer confidence are all putting downward pressure on global growth.Said Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board.
«This is in addition to the Chinese arrests and the cascades of post-war wars in Ukraine“, – continues the economist. Inflation is a priority for leaders, along with fears of cyber-revenge following sanctions against Russia. In the face of rising prices and volatile energy costs, companies have two priority strategies. First, they pass on these additional costs to consumers, raising their final prices, as 51% of companies acknowledge. Then they reduced their production costs, which is what 47% of companies do, according to the survey.
Fear of retaliation by cyber-attacks from Moscow
Another concern over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions is that Moscow will respond with cyber-attacks. No less than 90% of the leaders are now afraid of hacker attacks from Russia, 44% of them say.very worried«. This is the main face of their mentality before the war in Ukraine, where such attacks were the concern of only 16% of the leaders. These leaders remain the majority (62%) who are in favor of new secondary sanctions, ie to include in the list of countries that continue to do business with Moscow. However, more than a third (35%) fear the consequences, believing that the negative impact of the new sanctions on the economy will outweigh the benefits. Following the rise in the price of war raw materials in Ukraine, the main producer of which is Russia, the leaders (28%) are more motivated to accelerate the use of renewable energy. Finally, rising tensions between China and the United States are catching the attention of CEOs. 38% of them think that this harmful atmosphere caused by the war in Ukraine will have “main effectabout running their business for the next twelve months.
Source: Le Figaro
I’m Liza Grey, an experienced news writer and author at the Buna Times. I specialize in writing about economic issues, with a focus on uncovering stories that have a positive impact on society. With over seven years of experience in the news industry, I am highly knowledgeable about current events and the ways in which they affect our daily lives.