Business and global economic confidence among Chief Financial Officers continues to dive to some of its lowest levels in over a year, according to the most recent survey of CFOs conducted by Financial Executives International (FEI) and Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business.

The quarterly “CFO Outlook Survey,” which polls CFOs of public and private businesses in the U.S. and Europe (Italy and France) on their economic and business confidence and expectations, reveals that CFOs are uncertain about the financial and political turmoil engulfing them and impacting their business outlook. With a pending election and debt reduction a major focus, U.S. CFOs in particular are highly critical of their President, giving him a failing grade for his handling of the economy, healthcare and unemployment.

Reflecting an unstable and uncertain financial outlook, confidence among U.S. CFOs in the U.S. economy took a significant drop from where it stood at the middle of 2011. The CFO Optimism Index dropped eight points from the previous quarter (59.00 to 51.1 in Q3), the lowest since Q2 2009.

The third quarter index for the global economy also experienced a survey low for both U.S. and European CFOs: optimism among the U.S. dropped nearly 14 points from the previous quarter (59.40 to 45.50 in Q3), and fell below CFOs in Europe for the first time, which also dropped eight points (55.10 to 46.80 in Q3). U.S. CFOs’ optimism in their own companies also declined five points from the second quarter (72.30 to 67.30); while CFOs in Europe had a smaller drop in business confidence quarter over quarter (63.20 to 61.0 in Q3), it remains lower than their colleagues across the pond.

To read the full FEI & Baruch College survey: click here.