The year 2023 opens with slightly better — though not good — assessments of the nation than we saw last year, tempered by pessimism about plenty of issues.  2023年一开始，我们对国家的评估就比去年略好——尽管不是很好——对许多问题的悲观情绪有所缓和。

More say things in the country are going well than said so at the start of 2022.

Ratings on today's economy aren't good, but they're higher than before the fall midterm campaign. The job market stands out as a bright spot, even as concerns about inflation continue. Fewer voters think the economy's direction is getting worse than thought so in October.

Americans feel very positive and optimistic about the fight against COVID — despite concern among some scientists about winter outbreaks — which marks quite a change from the start of 2022.

This year does hold plenty of concern for Americans as they look ahead. They are still largely pessimistic about the direction of prices and the stock market; about peace and stability in the world; and about the climate and prospect of extreme weather events. (And very pessimistic about U.S. politics.)

It all adds up to this: Americans say they're about as hopeful as they are scared. 

Compared to last summer, ratings of the economy are up slightly among middle- and working-class Americans earning under $50,000 annually in income, though still negative overall. There's a political tinge to it, too, as Democrats are giving better ratings of the economy than they did last year.

Today's low views of the national economy are related to the fact that so many people still say they are worse off today than a year ago, and so few people feel they are better off.

As for President Biden, his overall approval rating is at 44%, around where it's been for the past year.

Half of the Romanians answering a survey by IRES are pessimistic about what 2023 will bring. A total of 51% believe 2023 will be worse for the country than 2022, 24% think it will be the same, while another 24% believe this year will be better.

The respondents with a lower education level, and those who say they would vote for the Social Democratic Party (PSD) or the National Liberal Party (PNL) if elections were organized next Sunday are more optimistic, the survey authors explain. The pessimists are among the active population and those who have not yet decided who to vote for in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

When asked to evaluate their living standard for 2023, 48% of the respondents expect 2023 to be worse than 2022. A little over a quarter (26%) believe it will be the same. The young respondents and those who vote for PNL are more optimistic about their financial status this year, while low-income earners, those aged between 51 and 65, voters of AUR and those who haven't yet decided who to vote for are more pessimistic. 

When asked what they would like to see changing in Romania this year politics-wise, the respondents frequently pointed to systemic changes. For instance, a complete change of the political class, the Government, or the ruling parties or the Parliament, the survey found.

A total of 48% of those surveyed were aware that the PM job would go to PSD this year, according to the protocol of the ruling coalition. Men, those aged over 51, respondents with higher education, and PSD voters were better informed of this.

The survey also showed that more than half of those surveyed do not believe Romania is in danger of being attacked by Russia, while 43% believe the opposite. Men, educated respondents and those with higher revenues perceive this danger as being lower, while those less educated and with lower revenues as higher.

The survey was carried out between December 7 and December 12 2022, among 1,615 respondents aged over 18. It has an error margin of 2.5%.

Colorado’s business leaders are stuck in a glum mood about the economy’s prospects for the year ahead.

科罗拉多州的商业领袖们对来年的经济前景感到沮丧。

More than half of respondents to the Leeds Business Confidence index think the U.S. will enter a recession  走向萧条 in the first half of 2023. The index is a quarterly survey of business leaders that is conducted by economists at the  University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business. Inflation and rising interest rates are the leading concerns of those surveyed.

The economic forecast feels dim 前景暗淡的，不乐观的 even though the job market is solid — the state’s unemployment rate is 3.5 percent — and other indicators, such as gross domestic product, are stronger than had been anticipated a year ago. The state’s business leaders appear to be looking at their own internal numbers and seeing a slowdown, however, even if the broader data isn’t showing it yet, said Richard Wobbekind, senior economist and faculty director of CU’s business research division.

“There just continues to be, I think, just too much uncertainty,” Wobbekind said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday.

Respondents are feeling pessimistic about nearly all the indicators included in the index, such as sales, profits, hiring and capital expenditures. Indeed, more than half had a negative sales outlook for the first quarter of 2023.

“So definitely, in terms of sales, not pretty,” Wobbekind said. “Businesses are looking at the environment that they’re in and suggesting… weaker sales and weaker profits.”

On a positive note, more than half of respondents expect the supply chain problems that have wreaked havoc on U.S. businesses and consumers since the start of the pandemic will continue to ease in 2023.