[(Title)] Business confidence falls amid Brexit uncertainty – surveys

Confidence among British business leaders has declined significantly and remains low, according to two reports that suggest the lack of progress over Brexit continues .

两份表明英国退欧缺乏进展的报告表明，英国商界领袖的商业信心大幅下降并且持续低迷。

A poll of FTSE 350 businesses by ICSA: the Governance Institute found that 55% of UK company board members are predicting a decline in their business over the coming year. This compares to 24% six months ago when the group last surveyed them.

ICSA对FTSE 350的调查显示，55％的英国公司董事会成员预测未来一年的业务将下滑。而在6个月前，这一数据为24%。

Oddly, fears about  appear to have lessened slightly as 42% of respondents rate a UK exit from Europe as potentially damaging, down from 54% a year ago.

奇怪的是，只有42%的受访者认为英国退出欧盟有潜在的破坏性，较一年前的54%有所下降。

However, no respondents are rating Brexit as “positive”, compared to 9% who did so when they were asked in the winter of 2016.

然而，没有哪个受访者认为英国退出欧盟是“积极的”，而2016年冬季被问及英国脱欧时，有9%的受访者认为这是“积极的”。

Optimism among the business leaders polled was in short supply. Only 6% of directors said they are anticipating an improvement in their fortunes over the next 12 months.

受访的商界领袖们对此表示并不乐观。仅有6%的董事表示，他们预计未来12个月内财富将会有所增加。

“It is hard to see any other reason for continuing pessimism over the economy other than the ongoing government infighting over Brexit and the lack of a clear plan if there is no deal at the end of the negotiations,” Peter Swabey, the policy and research director at ICSA, said. Confidence in the global economy, he said, is higher, with 25% of respondents anticipating an improvement in the next 12 months (down slightly from 29% in the summer of 2017).

ICSA的政策和研究总监彼得·斯瓦贝说：“除了政府关于脱欧问题产生的内讧以及谈判结束时没有达成一致，很难找到其他理由继续对经济持悲观态度。”他对全球经济有信心，表示25%的受访者预计未来12个月会有所改善（比2017年夏季的29%略有下降）。

Aside from Brexit, he said UK boards appear preoccupied with risk, boardroom diversity and the gender pay gap. The number of boards looking to reduce the gender pay gap has risen to 69%.

除了英国脱欧外，他说英国董事会似乎还关注风险、董事会的多样性和两性薪酬差距。希望缩小两性薪酬差距的董事会数目已增至69%。

Meanwhile, a separate survey of chartered accountants has concluded business confidence fell significantly over the past three months and has not been this bad since the 2017

同时，一项单独对特许会计师的调查得出结论：过去3个月来，商业信心大幅下降——自2017年以来从没如此糟糕过。

Iain Wright, the ICAEW director of corporate and regional engagement, said: “This is a difficult time to run a business.

英格兰及威尔斯特许会计师公会企业和区域合作总监伊恩·赖特表示：“这是一个很难开展业务的时期。”

With the increase in the regulatory burden along with the uncertainty with Brexit, global trade disputes and weak economic data, it is not surprising that confidence is so fragile.

随着英国脱欧的不确定性、全球贸易纠纷和经济数据疲软、监管负担的增加，商业信心如此脆弱不足为奇。

“The lack of clarity for UK plc has continued for far too long and, without significant action by government, the fragility in confidence will be prolonged. Businesses are fast running out of time to get prepared and are rightly anxious about an expected further wave of regulation, dampening confidence and impacting upon growth.”

“英国公司前路不明已经持续了很长时间。如果政府不采取重大行动，信心的脆弱性将会延长。企业很快就会对进一步的监管浪潮、缺乏信心和影响增长感到焦虑，这是理所当然的。”

The institute’s business confidence monitor found retail and construction were by far the most downbeat sectors. Those working in the IT and business services areas were faring much better, according to the survey.

该研究所的商业信心监测员发现，零售业和建筑业是迄今为止最落后的部门，而IT和商业服务领域工作的人则情况更好。

Wright said regulatory requirements continued to dominate the list of rising challenges for those surveyed, with 58% citing them as a bigger challenge – the highest since the survey began.

赖特说，受访者面临的挑战不断增加，其中58%的人表示，监管要求是一项更大的挑战——这是自调查开始以来的最高挑战。

Regionally, and the south-west recorded the lowest confidence levels, while the West Midlands and Scotland were the most optimistic, he said.

他说，在区域一级，西南部的信心水平最低，而中西部地区和苏格兰最乐观。