US Economy

  While the CFOs of 300 middle-market manufacturers are part of a growing chorus of observers who believe the U.S. economy is in recession, they are confident that the economy will recover by the third quarter of 2002, according to Fleet Capital Corporation’s annual Middle-Market Survey.

      Barring another terrorist attack on the United States , an overwhelming majority (92%) of respondents believe that the U.S. economy will emerge from recession by the end of 2002, with 40% expecting the emergence to occur in the second quarter, and 29% in the third quarter.  Eleven percent of CFOs believe the national economy is going to emerge from recession in the first quarter, while 12% say it will happen in the fourth quarter of 2002.  These findings closely mirror respondents’ beliefs about recovery for the long-beleaguered manufacturing sector as well.

      When asked how they perceive the current condition of the U.S. economy, not surprisingly, CFOs rated it as only fair, giving it an average score of 58 on an economic scale ranging from 0 ...

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