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The annual growth rate of M3 stood at 1.0% in September 2010, compared with 1.1% in August 2010. The three-month average of the annual rates of change of M3 over the period July 2010 - September 2010 rose to 0.8%, from 0.5% in the period June 2010 - August 2010.

In August 2010 compared with July 2010, the euro area (EA16) industrial new orders index rose by 5.3%. In July the index fell by 1.8%. In the EU27, new orders increased by 3.6% in August 2010, after a decline of 1.6% in July. Excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment, for which changes tend to be more volatile, industrial new orders rose by 4.1% in the euro area and by 3.3% in the EU27.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is publishing its report on the results of the “Survey on the access to finance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the euro area”. The survey was conducted between 27 August and 22 September 2010, and covered 5,312 firms in the euro area. The associated ECB report provides information on the financial situation, financing needs and access to financing of SMEs in the euro area, compared with large firms, in the six preceding months (i.e. March to September 2010).

"Investments, pensions and securities", "real estate services" and "internet service provision" are the three markets most likely to be failing consumers across the EU, according to the autumn 2010 Consumer Markets Scoreboard. Among goods markets, "second-hand cars", "clothing and footwear" and meat have scored lowest. At the other end of the spectrum, airlines show good results in spite of the disruptions of spring 2010 and consumers also appreciate cultural goods and services. The Scoreboard ranks consumer markets by looking at indicators such as comparability, consumer trust, consumer satisfaction, problems, complaints, the ease of switching providers, prices, etc. The purpose is to identify markets that appear most at risk of malfunctioning, for follow-up studies, which analyse problems in-depth and identify policy responses. For the first time, the Scoreboard ranks as many as 50 different markets – from food to domestic appliances to car repair – in all EU countries.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Germany increased 0.7 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) increased 0.2 percent in August.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for France increased 0.9 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) remained unchanged in August.

According to the latest available data, the EU27 external current account recorded a deficit of 37.1 billion euro in the second quarter of 2010, compared with a deficit of 42.1 bn in the second quarter of 2009 and a deficit of 31.8 bn in the first quarter of 2010.

The standard deadline for paying bills will be 30 days under a deal with the Council endorsed by Parliament in plenary session on Wednesday. The new rules should ensure that small firms no longer face financial problems due to the late payment of bills by public authorities or companies and bolster solvency, innovation and jobs.

In August 2010 the amount outstanding of shares/units issued by euro area investment funds other than money market funds was EUR 53 billion higher than in July 2010. This was due almost equally to increases in share/unit prices and to net issues of shares/units.

In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production fell by 0.4% in the euro area (EA16), but rose by 0.3% in the EU27 in August 2010, compared with the previous month. In July, production decreased by 3.2% and 2.5% respectively.