YPO: EU business confidence improves over fourth quarter

LONDON - 4(th) FEBRUARY 2015 - Lower oil prices and a weaker euro provided fresh optimism in the European Union over the fourth quarter of 2014. The YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index for the EU rose 1.2 points to 61.2, recovering some of the decline in the previous quarter. Despite the uptick, EU confidence sits slightly below its apex of 62.5 attained in July 2014 and below the global composite index of 62.5. http://www.ypo...

LONDON - 4^th FEBRUARY 2015 - Lower oil prices and a weaker euro provided fresh optimism in the European Union over the fourth quarter of 2014. The YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index for the EU rose 1.2 points to 61.2, recovering some of the decline in the previous quarter. Despite the uptick, EU confidence sits slightly below its apex of 62.5 attained in July 2014 and below the global composite index of 62.5.

 

http://www.ypo.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/EU-countries-confidence-GPJan15-v2.jpg

"Business leaders in the eurozone expect to derive some benefit over the short term from lower commodities prices and a devalued currency," said Anastasios Economou, managing director of iGroup and a member of YPO's European regional board. "At the same time, they have not lost sight of the systemic challenges facing the region that must be dealt with before sustainable growth can be achieved."

Sentiment among business leaders in most EU member states improved over the fourth quarter. The YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index for Germany recovered most of the ground lost over the third quarter, rebounding by more than 4 points to 58.2. Austria followed suit, recovering 4.3 of the 5 points lost previously to land at 56.5. The indices for Spain and Romania also gained more than 4 points each over the fourth quarter, to 66.2 and 61.9, respectively.

In contrast, confidence fell back to its July 2014 level in the Netherlands; its index now sits at a still-optimistic 63.1. France's index returned to its habitually anaemic level near the neutral point on the confidence scale, dipping to 52.1. Business sentiment in Greece slumped for the second consecutive quarter, to a feeble 50.7, on the eve of its legislative election.

YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index

The quarterly electronic survey, conducted in the first two weeks of January, gathered answers from 2,790 chief executive officers across the globe, including 396 in the European Union. Visit www.ypo.org/globalpulse for more information about the survey methodology and results from around the world. A more detailed version of this release may be found at www.ypo.org/news-media/press-releases/.

 

About YPO

YPO (Young Presidents' Organization) is a not-for-profit, global network of young chief executives connected through the shared mission of becoming Better Leaders Through Education and Idea Exchange^TM.Founded in 1950, YPO today provides 22,000 peers and their families in more than 125 countries with access to unique experiences, extraordinary educational resources, access to alliances with leading institutions, and participation in specialised networks to support their business, community and personal leadership. Altogether, YPO member-run companies employ more than 15 million people around the world and generate US$6 trillion in annual revenues. For more information, visit www.ypo.org.

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Contact:

YPO (Young Presidents' Organization)

Linda Fisk

Office: +1.972.629.7305 (United States)

Mobile: +1.972.207.4298

[email protected]

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