CFO Optimism Falls in Third Quarter

CFOs are seeing their glasses as less and less full, according to a survey by Financial Executives International and Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business.

The CFO Optimism Index for the U.S. economy fell to 41.73 in the third quarter, down from 48.92 in the second quarter, an all-time low and the largest quarterly decline in the history of the survey.

Also, the index for CFOs’ own companies dropped to 61.74, another all-time low and a decline from 67.06 in the previous quarter.

Respondents said they plan to make cuts in technology, capital, hiring and inventory.

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, www.cfosurveys.com.