Despite higher taxes and looming federal budget cuts, top U.S. chief executives were more optimistic about the economy in the first three months of this year than they were at the end of 2012.

The CEOs surveyed by the Business Roundtable expected to see increased sales and to spend more on capital investment in the next six months, according to results released Wednesday.

But their expectations for hiring new employees remained flat compared to the final three months of last year.

— From wire reports