According to the newest Leeds Business Confidence Index report, confidence is surging as Colorado businesses head into the second quarter of 2013. Expectations measured positive in all categories, including national economy, state economy, industry sales, industry profits, hiring plans and capital expenditures, the CU-Boulder business school's quarterly report noted.
* According to the report, hiring expectations saw the greatest quarterly improvement, followed by expectations for sales and profits.
* Confidence in the state's economy increased to 62.1 on the index, which is the highest reading in a year, the report stated. Fifty-five percent of businesses expect expansion.
* Colorado business leaders still have greater confidence in the local economy than they do in the national economy, the report stated. Cuts in federal spending and the European debt crisis remain of concern.
* Confidence in the national economy increased among state business leaders, with optimists outweighing pessimists 33.7 percent to 31.9 percent. Thirty-four percent of respondents remain neutral about the national economy.
* The state's businesses have now had six consecutive quarters of positive expectations as month-over-month employment continues to record moderate growth and jobless claims continue to fall.
* 58.4 percent of business respondents expect to see an increase in sales in the second quarter and only 13.9 percent anticipate a decline. Nearly half of the businesses expect to see a growth in profits.
* Personal income increased year-over-year both in Colorado as well as the United States, demonstrating stabilization that supports a growth in sales and profits, the report noted.
* 42.7 percent of respondents expect an increase in hiring in the 2nd quarter. Colorado has seen a growth in jobs since 2011.
* Not all the news was good for Colorado businesses, however. The sequestration is expected to impact the state's economy, particularly in Colorado Springs and the Denver metro region, where most of Colorado's federal facilities reside.
* Impacts of the sequestration will also be visible in smaller economies around the state, where federal spending accounts for a larger share of the local economies, the report stated.
* 54.1 percent of respondents felt that the sequester would have a negative impact on their business.
* According to Richard Wobbekind , an economist and executive director of the Leeds School's Business Research Division, the significant upticks seen in this quarter's report "really does give us quite a bit of optimism that businesses are seeing overall improvements in the marketplace."
* Wobbekind added that in the 10 years of Leeds Business Confidence Index reports, the school has developed a track record of looking at the economy and has enjoyed significant and consistent participation in it.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colorado-businesses-confident-going-2nd-quarter-204700144--finance.html
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