Kouk business expectations index continues swan dive

From Dun and Bradstreet AKA the wind vane:

According to Stephen Koukoulas, Economic Adviser to Dun & Bradstreet: “Business expectations took a further step lower in April as did the reporting of ‘actual’ activity. Most disconcerting was a slump in both
actual and expected profits, which have dipped to multi-year lows.” “Business optimism has clearly soured in the past few months to the point where sales, expected selling prices and employment have also slowed markedly. It is not clear what is driving this less optimistic tone, but a lack of economic policy resolve from the government, and the inevitable uncertainty that will accompany what will be a very long election campaign, are no doubt weighing on confidence,” Mr Koukoulas added.

Across the board, nearly every index experienced a decline, with the exception of Capital Investment Expectations, which increased by 1.6 points. The Actual Sales and Actual Employment indices were particularly hard-hit, with the former falling from 22.4 points to 12.5, while the latter dropped from 8.5 points to 1.1 points. Meanwhile, both Profits indices also dived, with Expectations falling from 10.2 points to 3.6 points, while the Actuals index collapsed from 8.0 points to -3.0 points.