|
CEOs weigh in on U.S. election
|
 |
October 26, 2000: 8:00 p.m. ET
At CEO summit, some corporate leaders back "pro-business" Bush
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Americans still have two weeks to ponder their choice for the nation's next chief executive, but for some top corporate executives, its clear that business would benefit most from a Republican White House.
Citing a belief that Texas Governor George W. Bush is "pro-business," meaning that he more likely to support a competitive corporate environment with fewer regulatory constraints than one run by his opponent, Al Gore, several CEO's told CNNfn they would prefer a Bush-led White House.
"I think clearly, Gov. Bush would be much more pro business," Archie Dunham, president and CEO of Conoco, a Texas based oil exploration and distribution company, said on CNNfn this afternoon. (170K, 170AIFF)
Dunham made the comments during the Boca Raton, Fla.-meeting of the Business Council on Economic Issues, an association of more than 300 current and former chief executives who meet three times each year.
His opinion represents no surprise, coming from Big Oil. After all, the nation's petroleum producers have given almost 80 percent of their election money to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Indeed, American industries, like American citizens are split when it comes to picking which candidate is best for them. Funds from the Auto and Tobacco industries as well have flowed to the Bush campaign, while Entertainment and Labor have backed Vice President Gore.
Asked who they thought would win the election, 49 percent of the members responded that Al Gore would be picked, against 43 percent for George Bush. They also felt that Republicans will maintain control of Congress. A spokesman for the council said the ballot were taken several weeks ago.
 But when questioned on Thursday on CNNfn about the business choice for his operations, John Snow, chairman and CEO of freight transportation company CSX spoke up for Bush.
"No doubt about the fact that the Republican administration would be better," he said. "More reliance on market forces, less reliance on regulation, more trust in competitive processes. That all works well for business generally."
Still some business leaders, perhaps echoing the opinions of many industries and companies, saw no great benefit from either man's ascension to the Oval Office.
"We are in this business for the long haul and we have to play this game and succeed no matter who's in office, in this country or anywhere else," said Harold Wagner, chairman and CEO of Air Products & Chemicals, a Pennsylvania-based supplier of industrial gases and equipment. "We are more focused on what our customers want and what they need, and absolutely driving to satisfy them." (184WAV, 184AIFF)
 Echoing that sentiment was Dennis Kozlowski CEO and chairman of Tyco International, a top maker of security systems and electrical gear (166WAV, 166 AIFF).
The Business Council report also showed that corporate leaders see economic growth in the United States and around the globe slowing next year.
They attributed the projected slowdown to the effects of higher energy prices, with nearly one-third of the members saying higher oil prices had affected their businesses. However, a majority of members said they were not able to pass higher energy costs through to final product prices.
 Other said that the euro has hurt their businesses, with a small majority saying it has added to costs but that they have not been able to pass these through to final products. The euro's tumble has injured the profitability of several multinational corporations in recent months.
Kozlowski added that despite the pressure from the euro, his company was able to meet its quarterly earnings expectations.
"As we explained in our conference call two days ago the euro cost us eight cents a share, in spite of that we are able to make all of our earnings forecasts and projections," he told CNNfn. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
