(FOX BUSINESS) – More than two-thirds of CEOs – 68% – believe that the Federal Reserve’s war on red-hot inflation could tip the economy into a recession over the next few years, according to a new survey from the Conference Board. While a majority of executives believe the downturn will be relatively mild, 11% are worried that aggressive tightening by the U.S. central bank could trigger a deep, “challenging” recession.
“CEO confidence weakened further in the second quarter, as executives contended with rising prices and supply chain challenges, which the war in Ukraine and renewed COVID restrictions in China exacerbated,” said Dana Peterson, the Conference Board’s chief economist.
Expectations for future conditions were also bleak: About 60% of executives believe the economy will worsen over the next six months – a stark increase from the previous quarter, when fewer than one-quarter of respondents expected conditions to deteriorate.
