NEW YORK, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Slightly more than half of chief financial officers at U.S. manufacturing companies think the nation's economy will grow next year.
A survey by Granite Research Consulting, commissioned by Bank of America and released Friday, found that while 55 percent of CFOs are anticipating economic expansion, that's down from 58 percent last year and 77 percent the year before.
In addition, only 26 percent of CFOs expect the U.S. manufacturing sector to expand in 2007, while 35 percent of those surveyed believe the manufacturing sector will contract next year.
Despite a less sanguine outlook for the manufacturing sector, 68 percent of CFOs surveyed expect their own employers' revenues to increase in the coming year, and 45 percent predict increased profit margins.
