Firms look to political problems as economic uncertainty fades
FEWER than half of company finance bosses believe that they are still facing an above-average level of economic uncertainty, according to a major survey this morning.
Deloitte’s latest barometer of chief financial officer (CFO) opinion shows that only 49 per cent are reporting above-average or high financial and economic uncertainty, down from 95 per cent two years ago.
The survey also found that more CFOs are concerned about political uncertainty than about tighter monetary policy: on a scale of 100, the CFOs gave 55 and 50 when asked to rate the risk of a general election and an EU referendum respectively. In comparison, higher interest rates came out at just 46.
Very few respondents expect that interest rates will stay at their current level a year from now, with 46 per cent of CFOs expecting a 0.5 percentage point increase, and 40 per cent forecasting a 0.25 point jump.