Euro zone firms upbeat but feel impact of trade tensions, ECB survey shows
Euro zone growth has been lukewarm in recent years as a long expected recovery has proved elusive but businesses continue to maintain high employment levels as they remain confident of an upturn ahead.
A net 8% of firms reported an increase in turnover over the last three months and a net 23% are optimistic about developments in the next quarter, the ECB said in its quarterly Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises.
However, firms continued to see a deterioration in their profits with the decline being more widespread among small and medium-sized enterprises.
"Most firms reported that they had been affected to some extent by trade tensions, with firms exporting to the United States and firms in the manufacturing sector being the most exposed," the ECB added.
Around 30% of firms expressed concerns regarding delays or shortages in supply chains and firms indicated the need to seek alternative suppliers.
"Main strategies employed to adapt to the changing trade environment include refocusing sales within domestic and EU markets and restructuring supply chains," the ECB added.
While longer term inflation expectations remained unchanged, firms cut their price growth expectation for one year ahead to 2.5% from 2.9%, the ECB added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
Online retailer Zalando raises 2025 guidance after About You acquisition
Aug 5 (Reuters) - German online fashion marketplace Zalando ( opens new tab raised its 2025 guidance on Tuesday after adjusting its projections to include newly acquired About You ( opens new tab. The Berlin-based company said it expected gross merchandise volumes to grow by 12-15%, up from a previously expected range of 4-9%. Zalando is investing heavily in its European logistics network, which it has also opened up to partners as it seeks to drive growth amid faltering consumer spending and competition from fast-fashion retailers such as Chinese rival Shein. The About You ( opens new tab acquisition was completed in early July, valuing Zalando's smaller rival at 1.13 billion euros ($1.31 billion). The company also said it achieved second-quarter gross merchandise volumes of 4.06 billion euros, up from 3.86 billion euros a year earlier. ($1 = 0.8634 euros)
Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
Orange to use OpenAI's latest models to work with African languages
STOCKHOLM, Aug 5 (Reuters) - French mobile operator Orange ( opens new tab said on Tuesday it plans to use OpenAI's latest AI models with African languages. The benefits of AI models have largely bypassed African languages, numbering over 2,000, due to challenges such as lack of data and limited computational resources, according to researchers, opens new tab at Cornell University in the United States and a report by journal Nature. Orange, which provides telecom services in 18 African countries, signed a deal with OpenAI last year to get access to its pre-release AI models and fine-tune large language models to translate regional African languages. It said it started working with African languages this year using OpenAI's Whisper speech model, but the new models can extend this work to far more complex uses. OpenAI's first open-weight models have trained parameters, or weights, which are publicly accessible and can be used by developers such as Orange to tweak the models for specific tasks without requiring original training data. Orange plans to fine-tune the models with its collected samples of African regional languages and deploy them locally. "We plan to provide the fine-tuned models for free to local governments and public authorities," Orange's Chief AI Officer Steve Jarrett told Reuters. "We see this initiative as a blueprint for how AI can help bridge the digital divide: by collaborating with local startups and communities, Orange and OpenAI hope to catalyze an ecosystem where African languages are first-class citizens in the AI realm," Jarrett said.
Finextra
41 minutes ago
- Finextra
PayPoint launches open banking payments in the housing sector
PayPoint is proud to support Thirteen who are leading the way in the housing sector with Open Banking. This trailblazing move marks a significant leap forward in how Thirteen customers manage and pay their rent, adding a new way to pay which is faster, safer and more convenient than traditional card payments. 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. PayPoint are proud to be offering this pioneering technology to the sector and driving wider adoption. This initiative builds upon an already successful partnership between PayPoint and Thirteen, which was first established in June 2024. At the core of the partnership, is ensuring customers have more control, more choice and a simpler way to manage their money. Not only does this innovation streamline the payment experience, but it has the opportunity to reduce transaction costs to Thirteen by bypassing card-processing channels. The first year of the partnership saw the introduction of a range of additional payment channels, including PayByLink, which enables Thirteen staff to send pre-populated payment request links via SMS to customers. Since implementation, the feature has been met with positive feedback with a dedicated payments app subsequently launched, enabling customers to easily make payments through their own device. Since the app's launch, Thirteen have seen cash transactions reduce by 14%, demonstrating a customer preference for the convenience of self-service tools. The app also enables barcode generation to support transactions at over 30,000 PayPoint stores nationwide, allowing Thirteen to move away from expensive, plastic rent cards. Jo Toolan, Managing Director of Payments and Banking at PayPoint, commented: 'The expansion of our open banking technology into the housing sector showcases the flexibility and diverse applications of our technology, and marks a strategic milestone for PayPoint. It's a very exciting moment for us and exemplifies our commitment to leveraging technology to improve service delivery and support digital transformation across sectors.' Rob Thompson, Strategic Lead for Rent and Income Services at Thirteen, added: 'Working with PayPoint has allowed us to elevate our payment solutions, providing residents with more accessible and modernised options. The integration of Open Banking is the next step in this partnership, which will offer a smooth and secure payment experience for our residents. This advancement will streamline our operations and ultimately enable us to deliver more efficient services to our community.'
