DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) - Amid growing concerns over the global economy, the United States has overtaken China as the No. 1 investment destination among chief executives around the world, a survey found Tuesday.
That's the first time the U.S. has topped the list since accounting and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC, first started asking the question five years ago.
Global investors appear encouraged by the U.S. economy's vital signs at a time when China's growth is slowing and executives are increasingly pessimistic over the global outlook.
"I think you are seeing a real movement to economies that offer some real degree of stability from a business investment point of view, and that's interesting trend from what we've seen in the past," Dennis M. Nally, the firm's chairman, told the Associated Press as the world's business elite headed to the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos.
One of the major reasons why the U.S. economy is considered the most important market for growth in 2015 is the fact CEOs are more pessimistic about the global economy's prospects than they were a year ago. In its survey, PwC found 37 percent of executives polled think the outlook will improve over the next 12 months, down from 44 percent last year. Meanwhile, 17 percent think the outlook will improve, more than double last year's figure.
Nally blamed geopolitical tensions, big movements among currencies and the sharp fall in oil prices, among other factors, for the growing economic gloom.
"With all the things that are going on out there, CEOs are less confident about global growth than they were just 12 months ago," he said.