European companies gain more confidence

Venture capital company 3i's latest quarterly survey of business confidence among companies it invests in indicates that confidence in both the UK and Europe is rising. In the UK, this is the first rise in the UK Barometer Index in the last eight surveys, as the index had previously fallen for seven successive surveys. The increase this time recovered ground lost in the previous two surveys, but means the index remains at historically low levels. Although confidence has clearly risen, the low figures mean the overall view remains strongly negative, and shows that those surveyed belie...