Nearly a quarter foresee growth over the next 12 months, while only 14% expect the economy to contract, writes the Independent.
Publicly listed and private company chief financial officers proved the most optimistic, with the vast majority expecting the economy to grow or remain steady. Public sector finance chiefs were less confident, with 26% anticipating a contraction in the economy.
G20 showdown likely over Fed’s quantitative easing
President Barack Obama can expect a rough ride at the G20 summit in South Korea this week after China and Germany denounced proposals by the Federal Reserve to flood the US economy with cheap money.
Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, was this weekend forced to mount a fresh defence of the US policy to pump an extra $600bn (£372bn) into the ailing US economy over the next eight months in an attempt to accelerate growth, writes the Guardian.
UK bosses eye China and India
Emerging markets such as India and China are expected to generate a greater share of growth for UK companies over the next two years, while Western Europe’s contribution is expected to slip to less than 50% from 64% during the downturn.
Furthermore, 29% of UK companies see China and 16% see India as a key source of profitable growth over the next two years, according to a survey by Ernst & Young, writes the Independent.
FTSE companies could be forced to ensure boards consist of 40% women
Big companies could be forced to appoint women to their boards under proposals being considered by Lord Davies, the former business minister, who is investigating why men still dominate the upper echelons of the business world.
Davies is looking at quotas of as much as 40% in the boardrooms of FTSE 100 companies in an effort to more than double the female presence, writes the Guardian.
Data from Cranfield business school shows 12% of directors in boardrooms are women. The peer, who is former chairman and chief executive of Standard Chartered, said this weekend he was considering a range of options.
