Business Roundtable's CEO Economic Outlook Survey, which reported sharply lower expectations for the economy in Q3, continues to make news. 

BRT's senior vice president, Bill Miller, discussed the survye results on the Ernest Istook program, Istook Live!, broadcast out of the Heritage Foundation. CEOs have lowered expectations for sales, capital investment, and hiring. Miller:

CEOs want to be able understand what the rules are, what the tax rates are, where the country’s going from a fiscal perspective, and from that perspective, as they see this fiscal cliff coming closer and closer, with no real solutions being proffered by the White House and/or the Congress, it makes them more uncertain. That uncertainty breeds less likelihood of investment.

The interview audio is available here.  Istook, a former U.S. House member from Oklahoma also discussed the CEO survey in this separate segment. (He's also a former radio broadcaster, and his Istook Live program is entertaining, informative, and has great bumper music. BRT is fond of BTO, acronymically speaking.)

Here's a Fox Business interview with BRT President John Engler we linked to yesterday.

Richard S. Davis, president of the Washington Research Council, cited the survey in a recent Tacoma News-Tribune column, "It doesn't take much these days to improve our optimism":

The Business Roundtable announced the CEO Economic Outlook fell sharply, reaching its lowest level since the third quarter of 2009. The survey tracks expectations for sales, capital investment and hiring.

Boeing CEO and Business Roundtable chair Jim McNerney says the decline “reflects continuing concern about the strength of the recovery, including uncertainty over the approaching fiscal cliff . . . the tax code, sequestration and the debt ceiling.”

Economists have found that as policy uncertainty increases, economic performance falls. It’s what McNerney is saying: When business leaders do not know what to expect, they don’t make long-term commitments, sidelining investment and job creation.

Radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt has also mentioned the CEO survey several times in recent days.

And here's Bloomberg, "U.S. outlook dims as weaker demand spurs faster cost-cutting, accellerated lay offs."