Less confidence in U.S.

Press, 10 July 1985, Page 33

Less confidence in U.S.

NZPA-AP New York Business leaders are substantially less confident now about business conditions in the United States than they were in the first quarter of 1985, a business-sponsored research group says. The Conference Board said its measure of business confidence stood at 52, down nine points over the past three months. That reading is the lowest

since the second quarter of 1982, the board said. The measure was a blend of American business leaders’ expectations about the future and their appraisal of current economic conditions, the board said. It was based on survey responses from about 1500 U.S. chief executives representing business of all types and sizes. •‘The drop in business confidence reflects both the current weakness in the economy and

the expectation of little, if any, near-term improvement,” said Dr Douglas Cliggott, an economist for the research group. One-third of the respondents reported that the U.S. economy is in worse shape than it was six months ago, compared with one in 10 in the first quarter, the board said. The only industries in which executives reported strength were construction and financial services, two sectors that typically benefit from declining interest rates, it said.