U.S. CFOs are expecting a 20 percent increase in their net earnings,compared with 13 percent last quarter.
Despite their climbing optimism, CFOs on average continue to believe that that the unemployment rates will remain at high levels for the next six to 12 months.
Source: CFO Quarterly Outlook May 2012
Improvements are occurring in the U.S. economy despite lackluster politicals. Perhaps a rally in U.S. stocks may help raise sentiments positively going into summertime. I believe that Valueline Survey's estimate that GDP growth will hover around 2.0-2.5% is a fair range; however, it is concerning how events in Europe will unfold and affect market psychology. Having commented here, I believe that investors remain smart about what instruments to invest in to achieve investment strategy and portfolio management goals. For now, CFOs are tweeking numbers here and there.
The real question is who is sacrificing quality to meet bottom line expectations. Also, there are U.S. corporations carrying a lot of cash on their books so opinion is strong that acquisitions may be in the pipeline.
Until corporations can finalize their tweeking, unemployment may remain high going to year end. As a rule, January is a great time to interview and get hired because of corporate budgets.