As bleak as things may seem from our vantage point in the US, North American business leaders are trending much more optimistic than their counterparts elsewhere.  December responses to the McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives reveal some sharp regional deviations in expectations, especially in developing powerhouses China and India:

From the report:

Respondents in the eurozone have become slightly less worried. Even larger shifts have taken place in the views of respondents in developed Asia, far more of whom now expect stability rather than improvement in their nations’ economies over the next six months—though they’re more hopeful about the global economy than they were in September. Among respondents in North America, there has been a marked swing from expecting worse to expecting better. Overall, though, respondents are still far gloomier about their countries’ prospects than they were in June, when nearly half expected their economies to improve in the next six months; now, 29 percent expect improved conditions.

Overall, business executives as a whole are expecting corporate profits to rise in the coming months, so the latest survey results paint a generally positive picture for global business.  Read the full survey results here.