If a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report holds up, it looks a lot like your typical chief executive officer is increasingly less confident about the economic picture for 2016. Concerns about geopolitical uncertainty have increased sharply, as has the likelihood of revenues declining in major economies.

Monday’s PwC report was issued out of Davos, Switzerland, and noted that confidence in the global economy fell by 10 points. Some 90% of CEOs are also said to be changing how they use technology to assess and deliver on customer and other stakeholder expectations.

Two-thirds of CEOs see more threats facing their businesses today than they did just three years ago, and just over a quarter of CEOs believe global growth will improve over the next 12 months. While that is where the 10-point decline came from, this is now 66% negative versus 27% positive.

Other notes are as follows:

• CEO pessimism is on the rise.
• Nearly half of CEOS expect to increase their headcount over the next 12 months, meaning that about half do not plan on new net hires.

The top five CEO worries were listed as follows:

• Over-regulation
• Geopolitical uncertainty
• Exchange rate volatility
• Availability of key skills
• Government response to fiscal deficit and debt burdens

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