Dialing it back: The nation’s top CEOs trimmed their forecasts for sales and capital spending but boosted their hiring plans for the next six months, according to the Business Roundtable’s fourth-quarter survey. Roughly 74% of the 129 CEOs surveyed expect their companies’ sales to increase over the next six months, up from 73% in the third quarter. But 9% expect sales to decrease, also up from 7% the previous quarter. Corporate leaders also predict the economy will grow a modest 2.4% next year, below the forecasts of many economists, who expect the nation’s gross domestic product to increase about 3% in 2015, up from 2% to 2.5% this year. USA Today has the full story.
The survey says: Do you feel like your manager listens to you? What was something you accomplished last week that you’re proud of? Questions such as these are typically included in so-called “pulse surveys,” which The Wall Street Journal reports are catching on at American companies in the era of status updates and instant feedback. Employers say short monthly, weekly or daily polls—sometimes a single question at a time—provide data on how their teams actually feel and catch problems before they fester. Frequent surveys are even replacing annual employee surveys at some companies, bosses say, although other companies, such as Google Inc., use both. The trend is part of a larger shift toward data-driven work. Read the full story.
These are the breaks: The House is moving to extend a $45 billion package of expired tax breaks through the end of the year, which would enable millions of businesses and individuals to claim them on their 2014 returns. The House is expected to pass the package of more than 50 tax breaks today and send it to the Senate. Senate Democratic leaders were noncommittal about whether they would accept the bill or try to change it. Time is short because the House plans to adjourn for the year next week, and the Senate could as well. The $45 billion would be added to the budget deficit. The tax breaks benefit an estimated 1 in 6 taxpayers, including big corporations and small businesses. The Associated Press has the full story.
