EFTA Document EFTA01459616

5 February 2016 Focus Europe: Dark clouds, no storm yet We have been regularly highlighting a dichotomy in the euro-area between hard-data and the more optimistic surveys since Q2 2015. Firmentiv, however, we see a divergence also within surveys. While the numerous consumer confidence indicators published last week surprised on the upside, the contribution of business confidence was negative. We interpret such a divergence as a confirmation of a recovery driven by private consumption, bo