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Executives Regain Optimism: Two-thirds of the nation’s chief executive officers, on the other hand, are more hopeful than they were six months ago that the economy will turn around, according to a survey of 362 CEOs by the Coopers & Lybrand accounting firm.

Just one in 10 is pessimistic about the economy--half as many as last quarter. Those surveyed are all from the nation’s fastest-growing companies.

“Growth-company CEOs have regained the optimistic outlook they expressed last September, an amazing recovery considering their bleak outlook as recently as December,” said Rich Lough in Newport Beach, regional director of the accounting firm’s emerging business services group.

These fast-growing companies plan to add jobs this year. Looking ahead to the end of the year, four in five CEOs said they expect 2.9% growth for the nation’s economy. That’s up from their estimate at the end of last year that 1992 economic growth would be 2%.

Both are fairly anemic numbers compared with those of previous years. Still, that’s a good sign, Lough said.

“Fast-growth companies are the engines that can drive the U.S. economy,” he said. “They are a major source of employment and a critical group of customers for large companies.”