Economist survey: Low is yet to come
A quarterly survey of 109 corporate economists finds them in a pessimistic mood about the future of their businesses. Higher commodity costs are one reason for the gloomy outlook. Jill Barshay reports.
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Lisa Napoli: Meanwhile, another gloomy survey by corporate economists. From New York, Marketplace's Jill Barshay reports.
Jill Barshay: In the latest April survey, 109 industry economists say they're pessimistic about their companies. In some cases, the gloomiest they've been since the 1990-91 recession. Ken Simonson runs the quarterly survey for the National Association For Business Economists.
Ken Simonson: I think this survey suggests that we have not yet passed the low point in the slow down, that not only was the first quarter weak, but companies are getting more cautious about the second quarter and the year as a whole.
Simonson says companies are getting hit with higher commodity costs. But their economists don't think they can jack up prices right now with consumer demand drying up. That means lower profits. These economists say neither lower interest rates nor investment tax breaks are much help.
In New York, I'm Jill Barshay for Marketplace.
