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.