For the first time, the cost of fuel climbs to the top of the list.
With oil prices hovering at around $140 a barrel, the cost of fuel has officially registered on finance executives' radar screens. In the most recent Duke University/CFO Global Business Outlook Survey, conducted in June, fuel costs reached a virtual tie with consumer demand as the number-one worry among finance chiefs. While CFOs have fretted about consumer behavior for many months, the cost of fuel has steadily gained ground on other concerns: consider that worries over fuel prices came in at number four on the survey for the past two quarters, and ranked seventh at the end of 2007.
Credit markets and interest rates are still causing anxiety for finance chiefs, as is the related issue of the ongoing fallout from the housing-market crash. The cost of nonfuel commodities, together with the cost of energy, is driving concerns about inflation as well.
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