Consumer confidence crashes in the EU

The flash report for August is linked here; confidence is down in both the EU (down to -16.8 from -12.4 in July 2011) and the euro area (down to -16.6 from -11.2 in July 2011).

French PMI is below 50 falling to 49.3, a bad omen for growth especially as the budget details seeking cuts of up to €20 Billion for 2012 are presumed to be additional to those necessary for a downgrade of growth prospects from the already optimistic 2.25%. Read here. More on the French cuts and taxes tomorrow!