Amid high inflation in the United States and the haze of a sharp increase in interest rates by the Federal Reserve, investor pessimism has intensified, consumer confidence has been declining, and the optimism index of small businesses in the United States has fallen to its lowest level in nearly two years. A confidence index of corporate chief financial officers about the performance of the US economy this year also fell to its lowest level in nearly a decade on Wednesday.

According to a quarterly CFO survey conducted by Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Atlanta, respondents lowered their economic growth forecasts to 50.7, the lowest level since late 2012.

John Graham, professor of finance at Duke University and academic director of the survey, said:

Optimism about the economy as a whole has fallen sharply, and monetary tightening is one of several factors holding back the economic outlook.

The survey, conducted between May 25 and June 10, surveyed 320 US financial executives who continued to list inflation, labor quality and supply as the most pressing concerns.

According to the report, CFO generally expect companies to face higher price and cost pressures. On average, CFO expects real GDP growth in the next 12 months to grow by 1.5%, down from 2.5% in the last survey; more than 1/5 of CFO believe that US GDP growth is likely to be negative in the coming year, up from 12% in the previous quarter.

In addition to the recession and rising costs, CFO faces other concerns. In June, as foreign tax credit rules threatened the net profits of some US companies earlier this year, CFO, a group of US companies such as Coca-Cola Company, Walt Disney and Verizon Communications Inc, submitted joint letters to the US Treasury, saying the new rules created a competitive disadvantage and would lead to double taxation. The U.S. Treasury declined to comment at the time.

The National Federation of Independent Enterprises (NFIB) released last month's April small business optimism index of 93.2, steady at its lowest level since April 2020, and expects the net proportion of business owners whose business conditions have improved over the next six months to fall by 1 percentage point to a record low. The report shows that U. S. companies are still worried about inflation and the economic outlook.

Wall Street News this month showed that consumer confidence at the University of Michigan hit an all-time low in June, while consumer long-term inflation expectations broke through the narrow range of volatility of the past few months, the highest since 2008.

In addition, according to Bank of America Corporation's monthly survey of fund managers, investors' concerns about stagflation are at their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis; optimism about global economic growth has fallen to an all-time low; expectations for global earnings fell to their lowest level since 2008.

There is no lowest, only lower, and the confidence of consumers, investors and business operators has been shattered. But Powell, who also spoke today, reiterated that the US economy is in good shape to resist monetary tightening, reducing inflation is a top priority at this stage, and promised not to let inflation affect the economy in the long run. However, can the American people still take Powell's "reassurance"?