Small biz expectations rising, but precious little else is

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on November 10, 2009 at 10:00 am

The latest NFIB small-business optimism survey shows a glimmer of optimism about where the economy is headed, but not much in the way of rising sales or better access to credit.

permalink | Comment on this post

Tags: business sentiment, business spending, entrepreneurship, National Federation of Independent Business, small business, survey  

CHS follows through in PA

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on October 12, 2009 at 10:35 am

Community Health Systems is in the middle section of a $100 million-plus capital investment push at a number of its Pennsylvania hospitals. Some of the spending stems from a 2004 commitment, but good old demographic growth is playing its part, too.

The number of people living in communities around the hospital is expected to jump by 11 percent over the next two years, Davis said. The hospital has already experienced a 32 percent increase in admissions and a 16 percent increase in emergency room visits during the past seven years.

permalink | Comment on this post

Tags: business spending, Community Health Systems Inc., hospital management, Pennsylvania  

IT honchos: Rebound starts next spring

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on August 14, 2009 at 6:51 am

An AT&T survey of more than 70 big-company CIOs has them looking at early 2010 as the beginning of the next economic upturn. And when that time comes, they’ll be asked to produce bigger returns on their IT investments in shorter amounts of time.

More than half of U.S. IT executives interviewed stated they are under pressure to deliver a return on investment in half or less than half the time. As a result, two-thirds cited that the change has affected their IT budgets, strategies and priorities.

permalink | Comment on this post

Tags: AT&T Inc., business spending, information technology, recession, survey, telecommunications  

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.

permalink | Comment on this post

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

Dell slips a spot

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on April 16, 2009 at 10:44 am

For the first time in eight years, Dell is not the largest shipper of PCs in the United States.

Dell was severely challenged by tough competition in the retail space. This, combined with the weak U.S. professional market, dropped Dell into the No. 2 position in the overall U.S. market. Acer’s strong growth was fueled by low priced mobile PCs, its solid presence in the retail space, as well as in channels.

permalink | Comment on this post

Tags: Acer Inc., business spending, consumer spending, Dell Inc., Gartner Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., information technology: manufacturing, personal computers, retail