WSJ – Vistage-Infographic-0814 TJK

WSJ-Vistage CEO-Survey Summ-0814

Optimism among small firms rose to its highest level since the

start of 2014, with the August reading the second highest since

the survey first began in June of 2012. The WSJ/Vistage Small

Business CEO Confidence Index was 109.8 in the August 2014

survey, up from 107.7 in July and above last year’s 104.2. The

August reading was only slightly below the peak of 111.5 set

in January 2014. All component questions improved in August,

indicating broadly improving conditions. Of particular note was

that small firms were more willing than any time in the past two

years to expand their productive capacity by increasing their

fixed investment expenditures. Plans to add to their workforce

rebounded as did anticipated revenues.

2q2014CEO confidence index tjk

Vistage-Q2-2014-Infographic TJK

The latest Vistage survey found that CEOs continued to

feel confident about today’s economy, as the Vistage

CEO Confidence Index was virtually unchanged from the

levels recorded in the prior two quarters. The Vistage CEO

Confidence Index was 101.0 in the 2nd quarter 2014 survey,

nearly identical with the 101.3 in the 1st quarter and the

101.5 in the 4th quarter of 2013. This was the best three quarter

performance since 2005. The constancy of economic

optimism is all the more surprising given the drop in GDP

during the 1st quarter, indicating that CEOs discounted last

quarter’s decline as an aberration due to the harsh winter.