Turkey’s Economic Confidence Index rose to 100.6 in August 2026 from 99.8 in July, moving above 100 for the first time since February, with consumer and manufacturing confidence higher and services, retail and construction softer. Italy’s ISTAT consumer confidence index stood at 94.5 in August, below the 95.0 forecast and the neutral 100 level, leaving pessimists still outnumbering optimists; earlier material had described a rise from 94.2 and the highest reading since February 2025, while a later update called it a slight deterioration without a revised prior value. Fresh ISTAT data show Italy’s headline business confidence index fell to 89.9 in August, missing a 90.0 forecast and down 0.4 points from a revised 90.3 in July, led by weaker manufacturing order books and production expectations, even as construction improved slightly and services stayed relatively resilient. The business reading sits alongside an earlier record that put composite business morale at 96.9 and manufacturing confidence near 89.9, a discrepancy retained where the series are not clearly aligned. Italy’s backdrop includes 0.2% second-quarter GDP growth, high energy costs, soft export demand from Germany and China, ECB rate cuts that have only partly eased SME borrowing costs, and government growth forecasts cut to 0.6%, with attention on industrial production, consumer confidence and use of EU recovery funds.