According to the YPO Global Pulse survey, CEOs in the European Union are more optimistic about the economy and the short-term prospects for their organisations than at any time since July 2011 and the heightening of the euro-zone crisis.

Fulton Collins of the YPO Lone Star-Dallas Chapter will be YPO’s 2013-2014 international chairman. A third-generation YPO member, Collins joined the organization in 1998. He is the chairman and CEO of Network Communications Inc., one of the largest U.S. publishers of local printed and online magazines for the real estate market.

The YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index for Asia hit its all-time low of 60.0 in the October survey, just 0.1 point below its previous low of 60.1 registered in July. The Asia index now sits just above the YPO Global Confidence Index of 59.0 and the United States reading of 59.1.

The YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index for the United States was virtually unchanged compared with the previous quarterly survey, falling less than 1 point to 59.1 in the latest poll of U.S. CEOs. This follows a much steeper 5.1-point decline in the second quarter. At the current level, the index remains in optimistic territory (above 50) and is in line with the global sample.

Confidence amongst CEOs in the EU eroded over the third quarter of 2012. The YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index for the European Union dropped for the second consecutive quarter, from 52.0 to 51.4, the lowest level of confidence amongst business leaders since July 2009.

The YPO Global Pulse Index for Asia declined 1.8 points to 60.1 in the latest quarterly survey. While the 1.8-point drop was modest and the 60.1 level is still relatively optimistic, the YPO Asia Confidence Index is now at its lowest since the YPO Global Pulse survey began three years ago.

The YPO Global Pulse Index for the United States fell 5.1 points from 65.1 in the previous quarterly survey to 60.0 in the latest poll of U.S. CEOs. The 65.1 reading was the all-time high in the three years of the survey’s existence, and the 5.1 point decline represented the sharpest quarterly drop since the survey began.

CEOs in the European Union remain the least confident in the world. Despite the recent decision by EU leaders to bolster the region’s banking system, confidence amongst business chiefs in the region is now the lowest it’s been in nine months. In particular, levels of optimism fell away in the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy over the past quarter.