Chief financial officers rate the U.S. economy slightly better than a year ago, but only two out of five expect economic growth in 2013, according to a new survey. The more than 600 U.S. executives interviewed gave the American economy a rating of 49 out of 100, up from 44 a year earlier, according to the 15th annual Bank of America Merrill Lynch CFO outlook survey. They rated the global economy at 45, up from 43.The survey took place from mid-November to mid-January at a time of uncertainty over tax increases and spending cuts in the United States, likely coloring the results, said Alastair Borthwick, head of global commercial banking at Bank of America.The 49 score for the U.S. economy was far below the all-time high of 67 in 2007 but still the highest score since 2008, Borthwick said. "There was an element last year of healing and things getting better," he said.On the jobs front, only 8 percent of CFOs expect their companies to lay off workers in 2013, while 45 percent said they planned to hire employees. That echoed results in last year's report.
Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) is a bank holding company, and a financial holding company. Shares of BAC traded higher by 0.3% or $0.035/share to $11.88. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $6.72 and as high as $12.20. On average, 159412000 shares of BAC exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 19322780.
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