Australian business attitudes are exhibiting an upbeat outlook, as the year-end holiday trading period looms. The Dun & Bradstreet's Business Expectations Survey for the final quarter of 2016 indicates that many more companies are factoring in increased sales, profits, employee numbers and selling prices for the December quarter, compared to the September quarter. Compared to the final quarter of 2015, though, expectations are lower in many components of the survey. For instance, expectations for capital investment remain subdued, which is a concern for the economy given the still unfolding decline in mining investment plans, according to Stephen Koukoulas, economics advisor to Dun & Bradstreet.Optimism regarding the results of July's federal election is waning, with just 15.3 per cent of firms expecting a positive impact (down from 20.7 per cent in the August survey). Some 10.7 per cent of businesses said they expect a negative impact. However, the majority of respondents (63.5 per cent) said the result will have no impact on their business.Against this trend, the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate sector maintained its positive outlook, with 27.6 per cent of companies in that industry forecasting a positive impact, compared to just 5.2 per cent that expect a negative impact (net result: a positive 22.4 points).