Business Confidence in the Caribbean Falls Again

More than half of Caribbean respondents believe the global economic recovery is not on track according to the latest Global Economic Conditions Survey. Confidence in the global economy fell in Q3 2012 according to a worldwide survey of 2,500 finance professionals. Sixty seven percent of respondents now believe that the global economy is stagnating or reversing.

Further analysis suggests that this latest fall in global confidence is due almost entirely to changing business fundamentals – such as demand, access to finance, prompt payment and inflation - as opposed to respondents’ sentiment. Globally, the downturn is firmly focused on the real economy with small and medium sized enterprises being the worst hit.

The 15th edition of the quarterly Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) undertaken by ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and IMA (the Institute of Management Accountants), shows that for the Caribbean only 15 percent of respondents reported confidence gains, against 40 percent who reported losses.

Just under a third (32 percent) believed the global economic recovery was on track, while 62 percent did not. Both measures of economic optimism were exactly in line with the average in non-OECD countries.

Source: Trinidad & Tobago Newsday