Colorado business confidence slightly down but positive for third quarter
July 1, 2015
Richard Wobbekind
The confidence of Colorado business leaders dipped slightly though remained
positive going into the third quarter of 2015, according to the Leeds Business
Confidence Index released today by the University of Colorado Boulder’s
Leeds School of Business.
Still, expectations measured positive for all of the metrics within the index,
which include the national economy, state economy, industry sales, industry
profits, capital expenditures and hiring plans, says CU-Boulder economist
Richard Wobbekind.
CUT 1 “This report reflects a very positive scenario in the sense of all six of
the indicators are above 50. The majority view across all of these indicators is
growth. But it also reflects some headwinds that the economy is facing. (:16)
Clearly the largest one is the lower oil prices, which have impacted the oil
industry directly and perhaps indirectly to other sectors like professional and
business services.” (:27)
Wobbekind says lower than expected Gross Domestic Product numbers most
likely account for the drop in the confidence numbers since state confidence
index numbers remained high.
CUT 2 “The biggest drop in valuation came on the national economy. We had
a very weak first quarter GDP number that probably influenced them and they
may be taking a little bit more of a wait-and-see attitude.” (:13)
Wobbekind also says he is not surprised by the report since he expected the
economy to eventually level out after several strong quarters of growth. But
an area of concern, he says, is the housing sector where costs continue to rise,
making it difficult for people to rent let alone buy.
CUT 3 “We’re spending a lot of time looking at the cost of housing. Year over
year in the most recent federal housing finance authority numbers we have
the highest appreciation in the country – the state of Colorado - the Denver
area. (:14) We hear many stories of rapidly rising rental rates as well – not just
home costs but the cost of shelter for people who are living here – whether
they are renting or whether they are trying to buy or own a home.” (:29)
The fall to an overall reading of 58.3, down from 61.7 going into the second
quarter of 2015, marks the index’s biggest decrease since the second quarter
of 2013.
Still, the favorable standings represent 15 consecutive quarters of positive
expectations, says Wobbekind.
-CU-