For business, first the good news. People trust business more than government, according to the latest Edelman Trust barometer. The global figures show that trust in business is on the up and trust in government is declining.

Business is the most trusted institution in seven of the 18 countries surveyed, with government the least trusted in 11 nations. In the United States, trust in business has reached a record 53 per cent, compared to 44 per cent in 2001. Trust in government has fallen to 38 per cent and the gap is the widest in the eight years the survey has been conducted.

Edelman CEO Richard Edelman says it's because business is bringing prosperity to economies around the world but there might be a simpler explanation: governments around the world are pretty bad. Which means that business is looking good, but it's only because of what we're comparing it to.

Also, the picture is patchy. The survey shows that US businesses are distrusted in other countries, particularly by the Europeans. It's a problem compounded by the Bush administration but it's more complicated than that because American companies operating in China, Brazil and other developing markets are trusted.

Another interesting aspect is that more people are turning to corporations to solve societal problems, from poverty to environmental challenges.

So while the raw figures look good for business, the road ahead is not going to be easy.