After early November’s election, an enduring storyline was a surge in confidence—among consumers, executives and investors—predicated on expectations that a second Trump administration will loosen regulations, trim taxes and generally unleash those vaunted animal spirits.
Those sentiments surfaced clearly in the quarterly CFO Survey run by researchers at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and two Federal Reserve banks as well as among the traditionally more conservative small-company leaders responding to the National Federation of Independent Business. And even a sour reading in The Conference Board’s latest Consumer Confidence Index was labeled as likely overstating “any true deterioration in attitudes.”
Now for those upbeat outlooks to translate into more orders and investment, particularly in the manufacturing side of the economy. IndustryWeek’s most recent Tales From The Transcript analysis of sentiment from 50 leadership teams showed that many belts could remain tight for a while. Speaking after reporting their quarterly results, executives were still being vigilant and disciplined while espousing “optionality” and “operational flexibility” in their operations. We’ll be listening for a vibe shift as Q4 results roll in between now and mid-February.
