Most expect slumping sales, more layoffs: A survey of CEOs found that more than two-thirds expect sales to drop over the next six months. Seventy-one percent of the executives polled for the Business Roundtable’s quarterly CEO Economic Outlook Index say they expect to reduce the number of employees over the next six months. The CEO Index dropped to negative 5, the first time the index has been in negative territory. A reading of below 50 mean the executives expect contraction rather than growth.
Powering up: Entergy Nuclear, a unit of power provider Entergy, says it has started a venture with Enercon Services, an energy consulting company, to provide services for nuclear power plants. Terms of the venture were not disclosed. Entergy Nuclear and Enercon said the services would include new plant deployment, re-licensing of existing plants and plant operation. New Orleans-based Entergy is pursuing a plant to separate its non-utility nuclear business into a separate company known as Enexus Energy Corp. After the spin-off, Enexus will own six wholesale reactors that are currently part of Entergy’s 11-unit fleet. Those two companies will have a joint venture known as EquaGen that will operate Enexus’ plants and provide services to Entergy’s regulated River Bend and Waterford 3 nuclear plants in Louisiana, along with facilities in Mississippi and Arkansas.
