CFOs' views on the U.S. economy deteriorated a bit in the secondquarter, even though their outlook is still far rosier than it wasa year ago. The quarterly survey of CFOs conducted by FinancialExecutives International and Baruch College's Zicklin School ofBusiness shows the CFO optimism index fell to 48.14 in the secondquarter from 53.60 in the first quarter, while CFOs' outlook fortheir own companies declined to 67.40 from 69.49.

Recent events are probably to blame for the deterioration insentiment, says John Elliott, Dean of Baruch College's ZicklinSchool of Business. “We saw the oil spill. We saw the Europeanfiscal crisis. We've seen concerns over the sustainability of Asiangrowth rates,” Elliott says. “You look at every one of thosefactors and they just add uncertainty.” The enactment of bothhealthcare reform and financial regulatory reform have compoundedthat uncertainty, he says.

The decline in the economic optimism index breaks a string offour consecutive increases. But the 48.14 reading in the secondquarter is still far higher than the 41.90 reading in the secondquarter of 2009, and other information in the survey also confirmshow far the economy has already come.