State business leaders feel less bullish

BOULDER – Colorado business leaders are feeling less bullish about the state of the economy as the third quarter begins, according to a report released Friday by the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business.

The Leeds Business Confidence Index found that business leaders have some optimism about their companies’ profitability, hiring prospects and capital expenditures, but confidence in the national economy has plummeted.

The survey uses 50 as a neutral score, and scores above 50 indicate optimism. The overall score was 51.6, down from 56.8 at the start of the second quarter.

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Confidence in the national economy fell nearly 10 points from 53.6 to 44.0, and optimism in the state economy fell from 55.5 to 51.2.

“The overall economy has been damaged by uncertainty – the uncertainty of consumers about the strength of the recovery and the strength of the job market and the uncertainty of businesses about demand for their products – and I think that uncertainty has worked its way into our index and other national indexes,” Richard Wobbekind, a CU professor and the executive director of the Business Research Division, said in a media release.

Capital expenditures had an index reading of 53.4, down from 56.1 last quarter. Sales and profit expectations were positive, with scores of 55.8 and 53.1 respectively.