When asked about the outlook for the future, survey respondent Paul Menzel, president and CEO, Financial Pacific Leasing, LLC, said that he “continue[s] to wait for the micro and small business segment of the economy to pick up. Consumers continue to lack confidence in the economy and are debt averse and/or de-leveraging their balance sheets. The political gridlock on the deficit is a threat to this already fragile recovery.” He added that this uncertainty is the reason for a guarded forecast.
The overall MCI-EFI is 56.2, an increase from the June index of 52.6.