Duke CFO Outlook Survey
 
All information will be used only in aggregate form. No individual data is recorded or made public. Please respond by midnight ET, Thursday, December 5th. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact us.

 

1. Are you more or less optimistic about the U.S. economy compared to last quarter?
More optimistic
Less optimistic
No change		 Rate your optimism about the U.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 do you think annualized U.S. GDP growth will be during the next 12 months? (e.g., +3%, -2%, etc.)
%
 
4. Relative to 2002, what will be your company's PERCENTAGE CHANGE during 2003? (e.g., +3%, -2%, etc.)  [Leave blank if not applicable]
 
%  Prices of your products
%  Overtime
%  Advertising/Marketing spending
%  Technology spending
%  Number of employees
%  Productivity (output per hour worked)
%  Wages/Salaries		 %  Earnings
%  Revenues
%  Inventory
%  M&A activity
%  Capital spending
%  Dividends
 
5a. Regarding capital investments, is your company:
Holding off on all or nearly all capital investments
Spending cautiously
Spending at normal rate
Making ambitious investments in capital expenditures
 
5b. If your company is spending less than normal levels, when do you anticipate returning to normal spending?
First half of 2003
Second half of 2003
Sometime in 2004
Beyond 2004
Don't know/Can't project
N/A – Not spending below normal levels
 
6. As of December 2nd, the annual yield on 10-yr treasury bonds was 4.2%. Please complete the following:
 

a. Over the next 10 years, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return will be:
  
Worst Case: There is a 1-in-10
chance the actual average
return will be less than:

%

 Best Guess:
I expect the
return to be:

%

 Best Case: There is a 1-in-10
chance the actual average
return will be greater than:

%
b. During the next year I expect the S&P 500 return will be:
  
Worst Case: There is a 1-in-10
chance the actual return will
be less than:

%

 Best Guess:
I expect the
return to be:

%

 Best Case: There is a 1-in-10
chance the actual return will
be greater than:

%
 
7. Of the following issues on President Bush's 2003 agenda, which is the single most important issue to your company?
Preservation and protection of the Rabbi Trust as a funding 
          vehicle for non-qualified deferred compensation
Preservation and protection of the current valuation method 
          for employee stock options
Making pension provisions in the Economic Growth and Tax
          Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 permanent (increase in 
          contribution limits to qualified plans)
Protecting incentive stock options and employee stock purchase 
          plans from employment withholding taxes
Stopping a Patients' Bill of Rights that exposes employers to 
          liability from their employees for health plan design
Passage of a new pension discount rate
Adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare
Passage of legislation that would allow businesses to band 
          together through trade and professional associations to purchase 
          affordable health benefits (AHPs)
Easing discrimination testing requirements on 401(k) and traditional
          pension plans
Social Security reform (partial privatization)
Other 
 
8. What will be your company's 2002 percentage change in year-end employee bonuses compared to last year? (e.g., +3%, -2%, etc.)
% We don't award year-end bonuses.
We didn't award bonuses last year but will this year.
 
9. 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
Other 
 
          b. Sales Revenue
Less than $25 million
$25-99 million
$100-499 million
$500-999 million
$1-4.9 billion
Over $5 billion
 
          c. Number of Employees
 
Fewer than 100
100-499
500-999
1000-2499		 2500-4999
5000-9999
Over 10,000
 
          d. Headquarters
Northeast
Mountain
Midwest
South Central
South Atlantic
Pacific
 
          e. Ownership
Public, NYSE
Public, Nasdaq/AMEX
Private
 
          f. Foreign Sales
0%
1-24%
25-50%
Over 50%
 
          g. Dividend Payments
Yes
No