Most CEOs from global corporations (67 percent) and more than half of U.S. small-business owners (59 percent) are looking beyond 2012 and expect the economy to improve in 2013, according to the 2012 NYSE Euronext CEO Report.

Still, 80 percent of CEO respondents and 60 percent of small-business respondents expect this growth to hit at a slow or moderate pace in 2013. The survey also finds that 48 percent of respondents consider the global economy poor while another 48 percent of respondents believe it is fair.

"Business leaders in the U.S. and around the world have significant concerns yet are guardedly optimistic on the prospects for the economy, their businesses and job creation in the years ahead," says Duncan Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext. "My colleagues and I are grateful to the record number of global participants in this year's survey, which offers valuable insights from global business leaders and – for the first time – America's small business and entrepreneurial community. Heading into the U.S. election season, business leaders are universally focused on the economy and jobs and asking policymakers to provide more certainty around their tax and regulatory burdens."