In the past few weeks, I’ve had a chance to talk with a number of senior executives in both Europe and the U.S. Their perspectives are strikingly different.In Europe, the pessimism is palpable. While not many are afraid of the EU imploding, they are concerned that Europe will be stuck in neutral during a protracted period of little or no growth. Those with whom I spoke were concerned about the politicians kicking the can down the road again and the inability of Europeans to pull together to solve their problems and deal with their overextended economies.European CEOs are somewhat hopeful that emerging markets will help carry them through. Many are also looking to expand their positions in the U.S., where they see the recovery as further along and manufacturing industries that have much lower costs and greater flexibility. If they could wave a magic wand, they would fix Europe’s overextended economies and get back to business.
