Strong investment to bolster economic growth

At this week’s ECB press conference, President Mario Draghi highlighted the continued improvement in the euro-zone’s economic performance. He reiterated that the region looks set for a period of solid, broad-based growth. We agree. In fact, our forecasts are even stronger than the ECB’s. Our above-consensus forecasts for euro-zone GDP growth are largely predicated on our more positive view on investment. Businesses are at their most confident for many years and surveys suggest that this will translate into stronger investment, which is still well below pre-crisis levels. Moreover, ECB policy looks set to keep borrowing rates very low for a long time to come