US business plans for investment hit 3-year low

US businesses are increasingly pessimistic about the US economy and are slashing plans for investment that is vital for growth, a private survey showed Tuesday. The Business Roundtable, a group of top corporate leaders, said its fourth-quarter survey found chief executives voicing "growing caution" about the near-term economic outlook.

Its CEO Economic Outlook Index, grouping sales projections and plans for investment and hiring, dropped 6.6 points from the third quarter to 67.5 in the fourth quarter.

That was the third straight quarterly decline for the index, which measures CEOs' expectations for the coming six months.

"Lower expectations for sales and investment reflect CEOs' ongoing caution about the near-term prospects for US economic growth," said Randall Stephenson, chairman of Business Roundtable, and the chairman and chief executive of telecom giant AT&T.

"Congress and the administration need to work together to continue to fund the government, expand trade, agree on a long-term transportation infrastructure investment plan, reauthorize the US Export-Import Bank and renew expired tax provisions," he said in a statement.

The fourth-quarter decline in the index was led by plans for capital spending, such as investments in equipment and property, which plummeted nearly 17 points quarter-over-quarter to 53.6.