Chart 1. The title is "Corporate CEOs report their highest level of confidence in two decades".

After the recession of 1982 and 1983, CEO confidence remained high at a value of 76 out of 80, then fell to 33 out of 80 during the next recession in 1990. By the middle of 1992, CEO confidence had risen, but only to an index value of 70 out of 80 at its peak in 1994. There was a gradual decline in CEO confidence over the mid- to late 1990s with a drop to 30 in the middle of 2000. In the aftermath of the 2001 recession, CEO confidence began to rise and is now back at its highest level in 12 years at a value of 73.