Confidence Indicators Deteriorated Significantly This Week
This week national confidence surveys rolled in with just one story: the economic infection in Europe is spreading. Business confidence indicators in France and Germany declined 1.1% and 1.6%, respectively, in the month of June. In Italy consumer confidence hit another record low since 1996 of 85.3 after falling 1.4% in June.
The National Bank of Belgium and Statistics Netherlands released their balance measures of consumer confidence. Both balances fell 2 points over the month of June. Notably, consumer confidence in the Netherlands is depressed, hitting a record low since 1986 at -40 in June.
These are highly credible indices with robust correlations with hard data like real retail sales and production. Given the precipitous decline in confidence, it’s hard to imagine how European economic sentiment will turn around without truly innovative policy action.
Rebecca Wilder
One Response to “Confidence Indicators Deteriorated Significantly This Week”
barf • June 23rd, 2012 at 1:05 pm
"In Europe." You missed that part in your head line. Listen the EZ is collapsing…period. it's time to start thinking how it's going to be "reformed" as this expanse of Geography is so massive and yet surpisingly lacking in in human life as to look much like North America did when the Puritans arrived. (thank God their goal was Godly!) What "sprouts" from Brussels is key. This is the Capital of a New Europe right now and going forward. I prefer to start with history. Here is something I found of great interest http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II_of_Belgium” rel=”nofollow”>:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II_of_Belgium
interesting. "a private colony funded by public money." hmmm.
