Services sector expands

By Kleinheider Posted on November 4, 2009 at 1:52 pm

From the Institute for Supply Management:

“The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index increased 0.1 percentage point to 55.2 percent. This is the third consecutive month this index has reflected growth since September 2008. The New Orders Index increased 1.4 percentage points to 55.6 percent, and the Employment Index decreased 3.2 percentage points to 41.1 percent. The Prices Index increased 4.2 percentage points to 53 percent in October, indicating an increase in prices paid from September. According to the NMI, nine non-manufacturing industries reported growth in October. Respondents’ comments remain mixed and are mostly cautious about business conditions and the overall economy.”

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Tags: business confidence, economic indicators, Institute for Supply Management  

Execs marginally more optimistic

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on June 16, 2009 at 6:38 pm

And the moral of this story on the latest McKinsey survey of the world’s top execs is: Hey, at least we’re not in as bad a shape as Europe.

North America is expected by many of the executives who responded to McKinsey as the place where a rebound will come first. Among the quarter of all respondents who expect an economic rebound in North America, 35% expect it to occur this year. McKinsey analysts say the relative optimism about North America has been clear since late last fall.

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Tags: business confidence, business spending, economic indicators, McKinsey & Co., survey  

Researchers: Legal spending to jump

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on May 8, 2009 at 2:57 pm

A study by BTI Consulting says businesses will ramp up their spending on legal services in the second half of this year. That will help limit year-over-year losses to less than 2 percent, the study says.

Rynowecer suggests the increase in spending will not, however, alleviate law firm lay-offs which have been rampant in recent months. “Rather than a wholesale recovery, we are seeing a shift of resources to specific firms and practices that are well-positioned,” Rynowecer warns. “Large companies are sharing this renewed spending with a smaller group of law firms than just 6 months ago. Those firms caught unaware or unprepared for this shift will continue to face significant challenges and not reap the benefits of this increased spending.”

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Tags: business confidence, economic indicators, law firms  

Homebuilders’ hope springs eternal

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on April 15, 2009 at 2:53 pm

An index of confidence in those in the sector has posted its biggest gain in almost six years, but still sits well below the benchmark for a strong industry. Here’s to that hope not, in the words of one economist, built on “a soft foundation.”

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Tags: business confidence, construction, economic indicators, home builders, housing market, National Association of Home Builders, residential real estate  

The thin line between confidence and desperate hope

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on January 21, 2009 at 12:17 pm

Nine out of 10 small-business owners surveyed by UPS say they will keep steady or increase their work force this year – even though they don’t see the economy turning around.

Importantly, this optimism is rooted in realism as small-business owners surveyed do not project a speedy economic recovery. In the first survey, almost half (47 percent) of small-business owners said they believe that the U.S. economy will begin to improve in 2010 or later. That number climbed to 67 percent in the December survey.

In the face of initial unemployment claims that have averaged 600,000 since Halloween, does that sound like a wishful-thinking disconnect to you, too?

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Tags: business confidence, employment, UPS Business Monitor