Business Roundtable

A roundup of news coverage of today's release of Business Roundtable's first quarter 2012 CEO Economic Outlook Survey -- and coverage has been solid, with an emphasis on the improved hiring picture:

Reuters, "More CEOs ready to start hiring again: survey":

U.S. chief executives' view of the economy brightened in the first quarter of 2012, with a growing number ready to hire more workers over the next six months, according to a Business Roundtable survey.

Improving demand in the United States offset concerns that Europe's economy may be headed into recession, helping to give the Roundtable's CEO Economic Outlook Index its largest lift since the third quarter of 2009, the group said on Wednesday.

Associated Press, "More US CEOs Plan to Hire as Outlook Brightens":

A growing number of chief executives at large U.S. companies say they are more optimistic about the economy and plan to step up hiring. The brighter view from the boardroom comes after the best three months of job growth in two years.

The Business Roundtable said Wednesday that a survey of its CEO members found that 42 percent expect to hire over the next six months. That's up from 35 percent three months ago.

Real Time Economics blog, Wall Street Journal, "CEOs Expects Marked Economic Improvement This Year":

The survey results “indicate greater overall economic optimism among member CEOs compared to last quarter,” Boeing Co. CEO Jim McNerney said in a statement. McNerney is chairman of the Business Roundtable.

Still, he said factors including rising oil prices, a sluggish European economy, political uncertainty in the United States and questions about future growth in Asia, “remain as potential obstacles” to growth.

On the Money blog, The Hill, "CEOs say Washington is putting brakes on economic recovery":

Overall, CEOs are the most optimistic they’ve been about the economy in the last nine months.

But that optimism is being tempered by the continued inability of policymakers in Washington to deal with a number of pressing issues, according to the group’s leaders.

“We all wish that we could get some conclusions in Washington ... at least to get some certainty, even if the answer isn’t perfect,” said Jim McNerney, chairman of the Roundtable, which represents the CEOs of the nation’s largest companies.

Bloomberg, "Chief Executive Officers Plan to Boost Hiring, Spending in US"

UPDATE

Economy Watch, MSNBC.com, "More Americans believe spring has sprung for the economy":

CNBC’s poll of 836 Americans across the country found that 36 percent believe the economy will improve over the next year, a nearly 10-point gain from November, and the highest level of optimism since 2010. The survey also found growing optimism in two key economic measures: expected wage gains and home prices.

In a separate report Wednesday, a survey of large-company CEOS conducted by The Business Roundtable, found that corporate managers are also feeling more upbeat about sales, capital spending and hiring for the next six months.

U.S. News, "CEOs Bullish on Economy but Will Wait and See on Jobs"

The data suggest that hiring will continue, but it could be slow going. "It looks as if the economy is not yet going fast enough to overcome productivity improvements and then begin significant new hiring on top of that," explained James McNerney, Boeing Co. CEO and chairman of the Business Roundtable, in a conference call with reporters. "We're still in this awkward growth phase where it's heartening that we're growing but not enough to really drive job growth."