After eight consecutive declines, the National Bank of Belgium's business barometer was up slightly in December. Business confidence firmed up in the manufacturing industry, more markedly so in the building industry and especially in trade. In each of the three branches of activity considered, the outlook for demand was given a rosier assessment. By contrast, in the business-related services, where the business indicator had shown a very clear recovery the previous month, the situation stabilised. Business survey indicators Gross synthetic curve Smoothed synthetic curve1 November December variation in variation in ... (full story)