Mexican Media Brands
Italy's Consumer Confidence Drops to 15-Year Low
Italians are less confident about economic conditions now than they have been since the government started tracking the data in 1996, according to the country's Istat statistics bureau.
#economics
Share
Italians are less confident about economic conditions now than they have been since the government started tracking the data in 1996, according to the country's Istat statistics bureau.
The Italy's consumer confidence index fell to 86.5 this month from a downwardly revised 88.8 in April. Gauges of current and future conditions also worsened. Buying intentions dropped sharply, and Italians expect the job market to deteriorate.
Optimism has been squelched by Prime Minister Mario Monti's €20 billion austerity program, analysts opine. They say current attitudes may signal that the Italian economy, which shrank 0.2% and 0.7% in the final two quarters of 2011 and 0.8% in the first quarter of this year, will contract again in the April-June period.
RELATED CONTENT
-
On Global EV Sales, Lean and the Supply Chain & Dealing With Snow
The distribution of EVs and potential implications, why lean still matters even with supply chain issues, where there are the most industrial robots, a potential coming shortage that isn’t a microprocessor, mapping tech and obscured signs, and a look at the future
-
VW Warns of Higher Costs to Develop EVs
CEO Herbert Diess says the €20 billion ($23 billion) Volkswagen AG has budgeted to electrify its entire vehicle lineup won’t be enough to meet that goal.
-
On Quantum Navigation, EVs, Auto Industry Sales and more
Sandia’s quantum navi, three things about EVs, transporting iron ore in an EV during the winter, going underwater in an EV (OK, it is a sub), state of the UK auto industry (sad), why the Big Three likes Big Vehicles, and the future of logistics.