WHERE THE GLOBAL ECONOMY IS HEADED
POLITICS AND REGULATION
IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, THE GLOBAL
ECONOMY WILL BE BETTER THAN
LAST YEAR
TWO YEARS FROM NOW, RESPONDENTS’
FIRM WILL HAVE MORE EMPLOYEES
THE SAME
NUMBER
FEWER
EMPLOYEES
THE NEXT RECESSION WILL COME:
WORSE THE SAME
IN THE
NEXT 12
MONTHS
IN 1
TO 2
YEARS
IN 3
TO 4
YEARS
LATER
17%
61%
65% 17% 18%
22%
3%
46% 46%
5%
SOME COMPANIES HAVE GROWN SO LARGE AND INFLUENTIAL THAT THEY ARE IN
NEED OF ADDITIONAL REGULATION. NOTABLY:
A.I. TO THE RESCUE
USED A.I. TO
IMPROVE
EFFICIENCY/
REDUCE COST
USED A.I. TO
CREATE NEW
PRODUCTS/
60 % SERVICES 22 %
SAY CAPITALISM IS NOT IN CRISIS BUT
WOULD BENEFIT FROM SOME
TWEAKING TO BETTER SERVE SOCIETY.
BELIEVE THEIR COMPANY SHOULD ACTIVELY SEEK
WAYS TO ADDRESS MAJOR SOCIAL PROBLEMS AS
(^71) PART OF THEIR CORE BUSINESS STRATEGY.
%
42
%
best REGION FOR
investment
opportunity in the
next two yearS 75 %U.S.
77%
14%
9% RESPONDENTS WHO FAVOR THE
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S
TRADE ACTION
WITH CHINA
IN THE PAST YEAR,
THE FEDERAL
RESERVE HAS BEEN
TOO SLOW IN
RAISING RATES
TOO AGGRESSIVE
JUST RIGHT RESPONDENTS
WHO OPPOSE
80%
20%
51% IN FAVOR 41% 39%
VERY BIG CHALLENGES
33%
INCREASED
REGULATION
25%
SKILLED LABOR
SHORTAGE
17%
COMPETITION
FROM CHINA
47%
CYBER-
SECURITY
33%
TECHNOLOGICAL
CHANGE
7%
SHAREHOLDER
ACTIVISM
Seeing Trends
ANALYTICS in the DataPAGE
2019 CEO SURVE Y:^3
THE RESULTS ARE IN
The CEOs of the Fortune 500 are feeling
increasingly cautious. A growing number fear the
global economy will worsen in the next year, and
close to half are preparing for a recession within
the next two years. Despite those worrying signs,
they still plan to increase employee headcount
and invest in A.I. They also think America is the
best place to invest your money. The poll was
administered by email between May 1 and May 10,
and the response rate was 18%. —ALAN MURRAYLast year, the CEOs of the Fortune 500 were ebullient about global prospects,
with 40% of CEOs believing the global economy would improve. Now just
17% have such high hopes for the next 12 months. But our CEOs are not
doomsayers. Most expect things to stay relatively stable in the next year.
President Trump’s tough stance on China has gotten more popular in the
past year. In 2018, a little over half of CEOs approved of the President’s
trade spat with Beijing. Now four-fifths approve of the posture. Meanwhile,
the Federal Reserve seems to have hit the right balance on interest rates.The CEOs were asked to rank the issues below on how big
a challenge they pose to their business. The percentages
represent the share that identified each as “very big.”Artificial intelligence isn’t the future; it’s the now. Already
more than half of Fortune 500 CEOs say their company is
using these technologies to improve efficiency.