By Ian McKendry

WASHINGTON (MNI) – CEOs of some of Americas biggest companies
downgraded their sales expectations in the third quarter and said
uncertainty coming from Washington continues to hamper economic growth.

“The overhang of uncertainty that sort of surrounds the economy is
still causing the economy to remain somewhat sluggish,” Ivan Seidenberg,
CEO of Verizon said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday.

“Until we see aggregate demand start to materialize, the hiring
will continue to be on a somewhat slower pace,” Seidenberg said.

The call followed the release of the Business Roundtable’s CEO
survey which polls CEOs on their expectations for sales, capital
investment and employment over the next six months.

Seidenberg, who is the chairman of the Business Roundtable and was
speaking on behalf of the organization, said the current tax debate
going on in Washington is a concern, but also financial regulation,
healthcare, and decisions on how to manage the deficit also prompt
caution.

“These are macro issues which aren’t just in the U.S — they are
sort of global,” Seidenberg said, adding it has taken a while for these
issues to come to fruition.

“As all of that matures, we develop a growth program heading into
2011, some of those uncertainties could go away,” Seidenberg added.

While pending decisions in Washington continue to drag on CEOs’
expectations for hiring and sales, Seidenberg said business fundamentals
at the micro level are reasonably strong and business are looking to
reinvest in their companies as they continue to compete in the global
market.

“During a period like this, every industry, every business will
continue to make themselves more productive more competitive, make sure
we are competing with the Asian companies, and all the South America and
European companies,” Seidenberg said.

On foreign exchange issues and the depreciation of the yuan,
Seidenberg said, “the administration seems to be heading in the
direction that most business people would feel is heading in the right
direction.”

Seidenberg said the survey for the third quarter drew an
exceptional number of respondents at 125 compared to the second
quarter’s 100, saying it was indication that there is a lot of interest
in what economic growth will look like in the next six months.

“Last quarter it appeared to look better than it does this
quarter,” Seidenberg said.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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