Pessimism Grows Among Small Company CEOs

Chicago, IL, April 12, 2008 -- A poll of private-company CEOs conducted by the Entrex Private Company Index (PCI) reveals that gloominess is at a high, partly because they believe financial resources will be tighter this year.

When asked about the perceived ease with which they could secure needed capital or debt funding, 39 percent of these leaders felt it would be tighter in the coming period, which means that CEO negativity nearly doubled from the only 20 percent who felt a tightening following the third quarter.

More dramatic was the quadruple increase in negative sentiment about the general business climate in the coming quarter. This figure rested between 0-8 percent for all prior periods of 2007. Following the fourth quarter, 27 percent of CEOs responded negatively. It was the first time in the history of the PCI that the percentage of CEOs feeling positive about the coming business climate dipped under 50 percent.

Employment data also offers a significant shift in historical reporting from this group of PCI portfolio companies. For the first three quarters of 2007 no fewer than 87 percent of companies indicated they were currently hiring full-time employees. Following the fourth quarter, the number plunged to 55 percent.