Executives’ expectations for the global economy, their national economies, and their companies’ prospects have taken a huge hit in the past three months. Our latest survey1 finds most notably that only 18 percent of executives in the eurozone expect near-term improvement in their national economies (compared with 29 percent of all respondents, down from 48 percent in June). Most executives think a double-dip recession will hit advanced economies over the next six months, and nearly three-quarters say there is at least some chance of the eurozone splintering within the next two years.
The gloom has spread to the company level as well: executives’ views on corporate performance over the next six months have fallen, after remaining fairly stable through the spring. The shares of executives who expect customer demand or the size of their companies’ workforce to rise have both fallen below a third, and the share expecting an increase in profits in 2011 has fallen to 45 percent, from 63 percent in June.
Economic Conditions Snapshot, September 2011: McKinsey Global Survey results