High unemployment rates and slow economic growth have led business leaders and consumers alike to become increasingly cautious about economic recovery. California business law attorneys have been following this trend carefully.

Consumers appear to be especially wary about the state of the economy. Lynn Franco, the director of consumer research for the Conference Board, said many consumers are not optimistic about economic recovery. As a result, she believes that there will not be much economic growth in the coming months.

According to the Conference Board, consumer confidence took a bigger hit than expected this month, falling from a reading of 53.2 in August to 48.5 in September. This is the lowest reading since February.

In fact, consumers expressed more negative views of their present and future situation in the consumer survey, leading to speculative concern in regards to upcoming holiday spending.

The expectations of the country's chief executive officers have also been lowered. A Business Roundtable economic survey revealed that many CEOs are not confident in the turnaround of the economy in the near future.

The CEO economic outlook index dropped to 86 for the third quarter, the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2009. Meanwhile, the CEOs' expectations for economic growth dropped from 2.7 percent in June to 1.9 percent.

Ivan Seidenberg, chairman of the Roundtable and CEO of Verizon Communications, noted that there has not been much momentum as of late and called the recovery "long and uneven." Further, he suggested that policy decisions regarding regulation and taxation would help to strengthen next year.

However, there was some optimism among the CEOs surveyed. For example, 66 percent of CEOS reported that they expected to see an increase in their sales in the next six months, while only 9 percent expected their sales to decrease.  However, 79 percent of CEOs were expecting an increase in June.

Source: Financial Times "US businesses more cautious about recovery" 9/28/10