The latest survey from business group IBEC shows that managers are confident in their own businesses despite increased concerns about the wider economic environment. The survey, which covers the final quarter of this year, measures business confidence under a range of indices.
IBEC chief economist Fergal O'Brien said the index of managers' confidence in the performance of their own businesses improved to +13 from zero balance in the third quarter.
The forward-looking index remained positive at +7. 'This indicates that growth is likely in 2011 and is consistent with our view that the economy will expand next year,' said Mr O'Brien.
But he said that, for the first time in the survey, the forward-looking index for manages' own businesses was weaker than the current conditions index. Mr O'Brien said the extensive debate around the IMF/EU deal caused companies to be less confident in the future outlook.
'While it was inevitable that the national angst of recent months would impact on business confidence levels about the wider economy, we hope that this will be a short-lived dip,' he added.
The current conditions index for the overall business environment declined slightly from -30 in Q3 to -32 in Q4. There was a drop in the forward-looking index from -24 to -32. IBEC said expectations about the overall business environment are now as negative as they were in the first half of the year.
The index for employment expectations remained negative at -13. A balance of +33 of companies expect export sales to increase in the coming three-month period. Expectations about domestic sales, however, slipped to -12, from -5 in Q3.
