Reports of increased confidence among European company executives are being welcomed by the head of a private sector organization in Barbados.
But while welcoming this information, new president of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) Barbados chapter, Doug Argmstrong, voiced concern that similar news was not coming from bosses in Canada and the United States (US).
The YPO is a not-for-profit global network of 20 000 chief executive officers and it is that entity which produced a new Global Pulse Confidence Index showing “urging confidence among chief executive officers in the European Union”.
Reacting to this report from the quarterly survey of economic sentiment, Armstrong, who is CEO of Automotive Art, said it was good news for Barbados.
“The news coming out of the EU, and particularly the UK, is very encouraging for us here in Barbados, especially as we head into our tourist season,” he said.
“Confidence is catching, and people are far more likely to spend on a winter holiday in Barbados if they sense that their own economy is on the mend.”
However, Armstrong said the levels of confidence found among CEOs in Canada and the United States were not as encouraging.
“The United States seems to be stuck in a bit of a rut, and my sense of things is that business confidence is being affected by political turmoil between the two parties in Washington. Canada came through the early years of the recession as something of star, but lately its performance seems to have lost some its shine,” he said.
The YPO said the EU index climbed 3.4 points to 59.2 in the third quarter of 2013, following an increase of 4.4 points in the second quarter. A year ago, the index stood at 51.4, it lowest in the four-and-half-year history of the survey.
In Britain, CEO confidence rose almost four points to reach 65.0, its highest level since April 2011. In Germany, the index edged up to 58.4, its highest level since July 2011. Even in France, confidence climbed out of pessimistic territory and into the cautiously optimistic mid-50s.
During the third quarter, the confidence level among CEOs in Australasia (Australia and New Zealand) also surged to 63.3, its highest reading since October 2010.
This reading represents a rebound of 6.2 compared with that of a year ago.
By comparison, confidence levels in the United States and Canada remained more or less static. The index for the United States was 60.5, a drop of 1.5 points compared with the second quarter. In Canada, the index shifted marginally to 60.0 from 59.4.
YPO said its Global Confidence Pulse Index” is the only CEO economic sentiment survey to span the globe on a quarterly basis. The index is centred on 50, which means a reading above indicates a positive outlook, while a reading below indicated a negative one”.
(SCPR)
