The economy has proven more resilient in 2023, with a majority of respondents to the Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) indicating the economy has performed better-than-expected. Despite this reflection, Colorado business leaders’ pessimism extended for another quarter ahead of Q4 2023, often citing interest rates, inflation, politics, and recession for their outlook. The LBCI captures Colorado business leaders’ expectations for the national economy, state economy, industry sales, profits, hiring plans, and capital expenditures. The index remained below 50 in the current survey (50=neutral) and was below the long-term average. The index fell from 44.1 in Q3 2023 to 43.6 ahead of Q4 but increased slightly looking out further to Q1 (45.7). Three of the six components of the index increased ahead of the fourth quarter.