The Wall Street Journal Collaborates With Vistage International To Launch New Monthly Survey Of Small Business CEOs

SAN DIEGO, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wall Street Journal and Vistage International today introduced The Wall Street Journal/Vistage Small Business CEO Survey, to appear exclusively in The Wall Street Journal and at WSJ.com. June 2012 results were released today and are available at http://wsj.com/smallbusiness.

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The new monthly survey will reveal findings and insights on the sentiment of U.S. CEOs and small-business owners from a broad range of industries, with annual revenues ranging from $1 million to $20 million. The findings will be analyzed by Dr. Richard Curtin, a University of Michigan professor.

Since 2003, Dr. Curtin has analyzed and calculated the data underlying the Vistage CEO Confidence Index, a survey of U.S. CEOs leading businesses with annual revenues of up to $1 billion. That survey is regarded by some to be a reliable predictor of U.S. GDP and employment trends.

For The Wall Street Journal/Vistage Small Business CEO Survey, Dr. Curtin will calculate a Small Business CEO Confidence Index based on a set of standard questions about the state of the economy and the prospects for small businesses' revenues, profitability, fixed investment expenditures, and hiring. The survey will also include questions that will vary each month to gain small-business CEO perspectives on the most pressing issues of the day.

"Many of our readers are small-business owners themselves or have a vested interest in the small-business community, and we look forward to the critical insight we expect this survey to provide on a range of important topics," said Vanessa O'Connell, Small Business editor for The Wall Street Journal.

Vistage Chairman of the Board and CEO Rafael Pastor added, "According to the SBA, small businesses in the United States account for more than 50% of our nation's non-farm private GDP, and 65% of the net new jobs that have been created over the past 17 years, so the perceptions and forecasts of small business CEOs certainly warrant close attention. By working with the world's most respected business news organization, we are pleased to bring new insights from many of our Vistage members who represent this critical segment of our nation's economy. "

About The Wall Street Journal/Vistage Small Business CEO Survey

The Wall Street Journal/Vistage Small Business CEO Survey analyzes the results of an online survey of small business CEOs (annual revenues $1 million- $20 million). CEOs respond to tracking questions about the state of the U.S. economy and the future prospects for small business performance in terms of revenues, profitability, fixed investment expenditures, and hiring. The survey also includes questions that probe small business CEO sentiment on critical issues pertaining to current business, public policy, economic issues and trends.

About The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal is the world's leading business publication with more than two million subscribers and is the largest U.S. newspaper by total paid circulation. The Wall Street Journal franchise comprises The Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Journal Asia and The Wall Street Journal Europe. The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, the leading provider of business and financial news and analysis on the Web with more than one million digital subscribers and 34 million visitors per month worldwide. WSJ.com is the flagship site of The Wall Street Journal Digital Network, which also includes MarketWatch.com, Barrons.com, AllThingsD.com and SmartMoney.com. The Journal holds 34 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism, and, in 2012, was ranked No. 1 in BtoB's Media Power 50 for the 13th consecutive year.

About Vistage International

Founded in 1957, Vistage International, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, California, is the world's leading peer advisory membership organization, serving more than 16,000 CEOs and senior level executives in 15 countries. Vistage members participate in professionally-facilitated peer advisory board meetings, receive one-to-one coaching, learn from expert speakers, and interact among a global network of business leaders from a broad range of industries.

SOURCE Vistage International; The Wall Street Journal