Tilburg University - CFO - Duke University
Global Business Outlook Survey
Third Quarter 2010

No individual firms are identified and only aggregate data are made public. Please respond by September 9. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact us.

1. Are you more or less optimistic about your country's economy compared to last quarter?
More optimistic
Less optimistic
No change		 Rate your optimism about the your country's economy on a scale from 0-100, with 0 being the least optimistic and 100 being the most optimistic.

2. Are you more or less optimistic about the financial prospects for your company compared to last quarter?
More optimistic
Less optimistic
No change		 Rate your optimism about the financial prospects for your own company on a scale from 0-100, with 0 being the least optimistic and 100 being the most optimistic.

3. What are the top three external concerns facing your corporation? (rank #1, #2, #3)
   Price pressure from competitors
   National employment outlook
   Stability of local and central government
   Competition
   Financial regulation
   Government policy
   Budget deficit		    Environmental regulation
   Currency risk
   Credit markets/interest rates
   Cost of non-fuel commodities
   Cost of fuel
   Consumer demand
   Other:    

4. What are the top three internal, company-specific concerns for your corporation? (rank #1, #2, #3)
   Working capital management
   Supply chain risk
   Protection of intellectual property
   Pension obligations
   Managing IT systems
    Maintaining morale/productivity
    Data security		    Counterparty risk
   Cost of health care
   Balance sheet weakness
   Attracting and retaining qualified employees
   Ability to maintain margins
    Ability to forecast results
    Other:    

5. Relative to the previous 12 months, what will be your company's PERCENTAGE CHANGE during the next 12 months? (e.g., +3%, -2%, etc.) [Leave blank if not applicable.]
   Capital spending
   Cash on the balance sheet
   Dividends
   Earnings
   Health care costs
   Marketing/advertising spending
   Number of full-time employees
   Number of temporary employees		    Number of offshore outsourced employees
   Prices of your products
   Productivity (output per hour worked)
   Technology spending
   Research and development spending
   Share repurchases
   Wages/Salaries

6a. Which of the following industries do you think are still significantly negatively affected by the financial crisis? (Check all that apply)
  Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing
  Manufacturing
  Electricity, gas and water supply
  Construction
  Wholesale and retail trade
  Hotels and restaurants		   Transportation
  Communications / Media
  Banking / Finance / Insurance
  Real estate, renting and leasing
  Health Care/ Pharmaceutical
  Information Technology

6b. Which of these industries do you think will be fully recovered from the crisis by year-end 2011? (Check all that apply)
  Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing
  Manufacturing
  Electricity, gas and water supply
  Construction
  Wholesale and retail trade
  Hotels and restaurants		   Transportation
  Communications / Media
  Banking / Finance / Insurance
  Real estate, renting and leasing
  Health Care/ Pharmaceutical
  Information Technology

7a. How much cash and marketable securities does your firm hold (as a percentage of total assets)?
  Today   (% of assets)
  One Year Ago   (% of assets)

7b. Is it likely that your firm will begin to deploy its cash reserves during the next 12 months?
  No
  Yes
  Not sure

8a. Did your company's capital spending increase over the past 12 months?
  Yes
  No

8b. Did your company's earnings increase over the past 12 months?
  Yes
  No

9. We are trying to assess how/whether domestic capital spending will affect domestic employment. Please answer the following for your company:

Our planned capital spending over the next 12 months

  Is likely to decrease our domestic employment
  Is not likely to affect our level of domestic employment
  Is likely to increase our domestic employment
  Not sure
  Not applicable

10. Compared to Fall 2009, does your company find borrowing now:
  Much more difficult
  A little more difficult
  About the same
  A little easier
  Much easier
  Not applicable

11. What percentage of your company's overall hiring has been part-time or contract workers …?
     
Over the past year
Check if no hiring
Our normal business practice
 

12. What sort of effect would stricter enforcement of immigration policies by the government have on …
  Negative effect No effect Positive effect
The economy
Your industry
Your firm

13a. What proportion of your company's sales revenue currently comes from exports? %
13b. In five years, what proportion of your company's sales revenue will come from exports? %
13c. Over the next five years, what will be your company's annual sales revenue growth? %

Please check one from each category that best describes your company:

     a. Industry
       Retail/Wholesale
       Mining/Construction
       Manufacturing
       Transportation/Energy
       Communications/Media		       Tech [Software/Biotech]
      Banking/Finance/Insurance
      Service/Consulting
      Healthcare/Pharmaceutical
      Other:  
  b. Sales Revenue  c. Number of Employees
       Less than $25 million
       $25-$99 million
       $100-$499 million
       $500-$999 million
       $1-$4.9 billion
       $5-$9.9 billion
       More than $10 billion		       Fewer than 100
      100-499
      500-999
      1,000-2,499
      2,500-4,999
      5,000-9,999
      More than 10,000
  d. Where are you personally located?   e. Ownership
  (Other specified)
  
If your company headquarters is located in another country, please indicate which country.

  (Other specified)
 

      Public
      Private
      Government
      Nonprofit
  f. Foreign Sales   g. Does your firm have one or more foreign subsidiaries?
       0%
       1-24%
       25-50%
       More than 50%

     Yes
     No
  h. What is your company's ratio of total debt to assets?
  (e.g., 33% if total debt is one-third of total assets)		   i. Do you expect your company's operating profit (EBIT) to be
     positive in fiscal 2010?
   %      Yes
     No
  j. In normal credit conditions, about what is your        company's weighted average cost of capital? (e.g., 12%)   k. In early 2009, about what was your company's weighted
      average cost of capital? (e.g., 12%)
   %        %
  l. What is your company's credit rating?   m. Does your firm pay a dividend?
  Check here if you do not have a rating, and please estimate what your rating would be.

    Yes
    No   
  n. Your job title (e.g., CFO, Asst. Treasurer, etc)
    



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