* The first quarter Deloitte Survey of UK Chief Financial Officers is published this morning. This is the 23rd CFO Survey and the findings are surprisingly upbeat.

* 120 CFOs, including 26 at FTSE100 companies, took part in the survey between 14th and 28th March. Respondent companies account for 32% of the quoted UK equity market. The full survey report is available at:

http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GB/uk/research-and-intelligence/deloitte-research-uk/the-deloitte-cfo-survey/index.htm?utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cfo_survey_2013_q1

* The fog of uncertainty that has been a dominant feature of this survey for the last five years may be starting to clear.

* CFO's perceptions of macroeconomic and financial uncertainty have dropped to a two-and-a-half-year low. And, despite the crisis in Cyprus, CFOs are more confident that the euro will hang together.

* Lower uncertainty has lifted business confidence for a third consecutive quarter and corporate appetite for risk is not far off the peaks seen in early 2011 when Europe looked set for a sustained recovery.

* Reduced stress in financial markets has delivered improvements in credit conditions for large UK corporates. CFOs say credit is more available and cheaper than at any time since the survey started in September 2007.

* CFOs have edged away from their previous emphasis on cost control and cash flow. Our index of corporate defensiveness, having trended higher for two-and-a-half years, has dropped sharply.

* British business looks set to benefit from a less risky, and improving, global economic backdrop. UK-based businesses with strong overseas exposure are shifting towards more expansionary policies.

* By contrast, UK-focused businesses remain very much in defensive mode, although optimism among CFOs in these companies has risen too.

* Policymakers hope that corporate activity will drive the UK's recovery. The latest CFO Survey indicates a material improvement in confidence and risk appetite, and suggests that economic uncertainty is now weighing less on corporate decision making.

* Everything depends on whether this more positive mood will be sustained and, in particular, whether the external financial and economic environment continues to improve.

* But overall this quarter's survey shows a broad based rise in confidence among the UK's largest businesses.

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