In a recent survey of more than 100 of its top corporate clients, DLA Piper found that a majority of senior executives from many of the nation’s leading businesses have a pessimistic view of the U.S. economy for the second half of 2008.

The national survey was conducted by the law firm’s Government Affairs practice and measured the current thoughts, perspectives and attitudes of senior business executives. The largest share of respondents (43 percent) represented top executives with a title of CEO, CFO, COO or President.

Over half of respondents (53 percent) demonstrated a negative outlook for the U.S. economy in the second half of 2008. Furthermore, the price of oil was cited as the issue having the greatest negative impact on the current and future business climate as 55 percent of respondents stated that the price of oil has been a serious problem for their business this year. An even greater number (59 percent) said they anticipate the price of oil will continue to be a concern well into 2009.

“The fact that the price of oil was cited in the survey as a major concern is no surprise,” said former governor Jim Blanchard, co-chair of the firm’s Government Affairs practice. “But the fact that it overshadowed everything else for these business executives -- the credit crunch, foreign competition and the devaluation of the dollar – was an unexpected finding, and underscores the deep impact energy costs are having on the economy as a whole.”

Not surprisingly, when asked what were the most important issues the next president and Congress should focus on, 54 percent of all respondents said energy policy. Senior business executives also identified a recession as the biggest threat to the US economy, with 31 percent choosing this option.

The group as a whole was almost evenly split on the impact of the credit crunch, although a greater number of executives from financial institutions (44 percent) said it had a significant impact on their businesses. The dollar’s fluctuation appeared to have little or no negative economic impact for a majority (66 percent) of the executives surveyed.

“Contrary to what you might expect based on recent media coverage, our survey showed that the threat of foreign competition represented a low priority among respondents,” said Tom Boyd, co-chair of the Government Affairs group. “We believe this can be attributed to a number of factors, including the overwhelming focus on issues related to the current economic recession. With the lack of available capital a major concern for U.S. businesses, foreign investment may also be viewed as a business opportunity among this group.”

When asked what issues Congress and the next president should focus on, foreign investment and trade policy shared the lowest scores. Only three percent of respondents cited foreign competition as a threat to the U.S. economy and just eight percent listed foreign investment policy as an important legislative for the Congress and the next president. Among the few who ranked foreign competition as an issue, labor costs rather than tax policy, environmental regulation or legislative policies, were cited as the area of greatest concern.

This survey is the first in a series of research surveys to be conducted periodically by DLA Piper’s Government Affairs practice group. The surveys will continue to poll the firm’s top corporate clients to track economic trends in the U.S. economy that can affect the legislative and regulatory process.

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