President Trump's trade tensions in Mexico and China hit Main Street as optimism for US small to midsize businesses hits an near-decade low
- US small and midsize business chief executives' optimism in the economy dropped 3.2 points to 88.4 for the second quarter of this year
- The Vista CEO Confidence Index found it was the lowest drop in nearly a decade, the last occurred during the last three months of 2009
- Of the 1,463 CEOs surveyed, 31% believed economic conditions had improved, a drop from 64% last year, and 13% expect improvements by the end of the year
- It's believed the drop could have been due to escalating trade tensions in Mexico and China, and proposed tariffs against Mexican goods that was dropped
A report surveying Chief Executives from US small and midsize businesses found that economic confidence was at a near-decade low.
The Vista CEO Confidence Index saw a drop of 3.2 points during the second quarter hitting a low of 88.4, according to Yahoo Finance.
The last time this low a result was seen was during the last three months of 2009 - during the global banking crisis.
The crash started in September 2008 after the bankruptcy of U.S. bank Lehman Brothers. It was believed to be caused by banks issuing 'risky loans' to people who would have difficulty paying them back.
In the report by Vistage Worldwide Inc., 31% of the respondents believed economic conditions had improved, a drop from 64% last year.
Only 13% expected expected an improvement was likely in the next year.
Vistage Worldwide Inc Headquarters (above) they founded shared their findings from the second quarter of 2019, which showed a near decade low
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The 1,463 CEOs surveyed in the report were spoken to during June 3 - 10, amid escalating trade concerns with China and Mexico.
CEOs were surveyed between June 3 - 10, amid the escalating trade tensions between President Trump and countries China and Mexico
This also coincided with President Trump threatening tariffs on Mexican goods, which would later be scrapped.
Richard Curtin, director of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey, who analyzed the data, spoke to Yahoo.
'Damage done to the economy from the tariffs, the slowdown in job growth as well as heightened economic uncertainty has been substantial,' Curtin said.
'Despite these concerns, firms still held net favorable views that the Trump administration has helped their business.'
Another report, by the National Federation of Independent Business saw optimism climb in May to a seven month high - in contrast with the Vistage report.
