
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, December 22, 1994                   TAG: 9412220095
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ECONOMY'S FINE, BUT FUTURE HAS CEOS WORRIED

U.S. chief executives continue to see economic conditions as favorable, but they increasingly are concerned about the future, according to a survey released Wednesday.

The Conference Board, a New York business research organization, said its survey of 300 chief executive officers found its measure of business confidence has declined for the third consecutive calendar quarter. For the fourth quarter, the index stood at 56 points, down 2 points from the third quarter and off 5 points from a year earlier.

"While business leaders are happy with the current mix of strong growth, rising productivity and low inflation, optimism about the near-term business outlook is receding," said Conference Board economist Jason Bram.

"Evidently, higher interest rates and capacity constraints in some industries are expected to limit economic growth in the first half of 1995," he said.

Key components of the index show that 65 percent of the business leaders said general business conditions are better now than six months ago and 35 percent foresee the economy improving in the next six months.

- Staff report

by CNB