Index of Business Confidence: Winter 2002

This quarterly survey poses ten qualitative questions regarding the business climate and investment intentions to senior officers of approximately 150 large Canadian businesses. Responses to three select questions are used to construct the Index.

Document Highlights 

Canadian businesses are more optimistic than they were four months ago. The index jumped 25 points—the largest increase in its history—in the fourth quarter, to 117.6.

Highlights include:

• The number of respondents who believed the economy would be better in six months jumped to 40 per cent from 10 per cent.
• Respondents overwhelmingly (96 per cent) believe that inflation will be low over the next six months.
• The recovery expected in the United States, increasingly confidence in security, low interest rates, and stronger corporate profits all point to a continued rise in business confidence over the next year.