CEOS still optimistic.

CEOS STILL OPTIMISTIC. The Conference Board Inc., New York, New York, USA reports its findings that chief executives across the United States in a wide range of industries are less confident about the state of the economy now than they were in the first quarter of this year, but that they are still optimistic. The "CEO Confidence Measure" fell to 55 in the second quarter, after registering 62 in the first quarter of this year. A reading of more than 50 points reflects a more positive than negative response.

IN OTHER CONFERENCE BOARD NEWS: the organization said its newest report reveals that an overwhelming majority of companies have started to use enterprise risk management as a strategic business tool to more effectively manage a variety of risks that can impact the firm's capital and earnings--but most firms say they still have a long way to go. The report, based on The Conference Board/Mercer Oliver Wyman survey of 271 risk management executives, found that more than 90% of executives say they are building or want to build enterprise risk management (ERM) processes into their organizations but only 11% report they have completed implementation.