Ceos Optimistic Despite Asian Crisis

In contrast to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s gloomy ruminations about Asian storm clouds, chief executives of the nation’s largest corporations see the region’s financial turmoil as having only a small negative effect on their businesses.

Members of The Business Council, active and retired chief executives of some of the world’s biggest businesses, did not seem unduly alarmed by the currency crises roiling Asia as they began their two-day winter meeting.

In fact, 64 percent of the 101 executives surveyed said they are taking advantage of the strong dollar to purchase assets in Asia at attractive prices.

Asked to assess the turmoil’s impact on their companies’ growth and earning prospects, only 9 percent viewed it as “a large negative.” And 9 percent said it was a “small positive” because it has cut the cost of oil and other commodities and of imported parts or components.