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In July 2010 compared with June 2010, the industrial producer price index rose by 0.2% in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27. In June 2010, prices increased by 0.3% in both zones.

GDP increased by 1.0% in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27 during the second quarter of 2010, compared with the previous quarter, according to first estimates released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the first quarter of 2010, growth rates were +0.3% in both zones.

The euro area (EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10.0% in July 2010, unchanged compared with June. It was 9.6% in July 2009. The EU27 unemployment rate was 9.6% in July 2010, unchanged compared with June. It was 9.1% in July 2009.

After the surge in July, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) continued to improve in both the EU and the euro area, albeit at a slower pace. It rose to 102.7 (up by 0.6 of a point) in the EU and to 101.8 (up by 0.7 of a point) in the euro area. In both the EU and the euro area the ESI is above its long-term average.

PC shipments in Western Europe totaled 15.6 million units in the second quarter of 2010, a 19.6 percent increase from the same period in 2009, according to Gartner, Inc.

The annual rate of change of M3 stood at 0.2% in July 2010, unchanged from the previous month. The three-month average of the annual rates of change of M3 over the period May 2010 - July 2010 stood at 0.1%, compared with 0.0% in the period April 2010 - June 2010.

75% of Europeans think that stronger coordination of economic and financial policies among EU Member States would be effective in fighting the economic crisis, according to the Spring 2010 Eurobarometer, the bi-annual opinion poll organised by the EU. The survey was conducted in May – at the height of the European debt crisis – and published today. 72% of Europeans support a stronger supervision by the EU of the activities of the most important international financial groups, an increase of four percentage points from the last Eurobarometer in autumn 2009. Europeans’ main areas of concern in the crisis were the current economic situation (40%; unchanged compared to autumn 2009), unemployment (48%; -3 percentage points) and rising prices (20%; +1). The crisis also had an influence on citizens' perception of the EU: 40% of Europeans associate the EU with the euro (+3), 45% with the freedom to travel, study and work anywhere in the EU (-1), and 24% with peace (-4).

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the Euro Area increased 1.0 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) remained unchanged in July.

In June 2010 compared with May 2010, the euro area (EA16) industrial new orders index rose by 2.5%. In May the index increased by 4.1%. In the EU27, new orders increased by 2.4% in June 2010 after a rise of 4.0% in May. Excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment4, for which changes tend to be more volatile, industrial new orders grew by 1.6% in the euro area and by 1.8% in the EU27.

The Russian electricity industry is one of the largest in the world, providing numerous opportunities for equipment and services suppliers. Following a long period of underinvestment, the Russian power generation industry launched a wide-scale reform in 2003. By 2011, the industry should emerge in a fully liberalised state, offering a number of opportunities for strategic and portfolio investors, equipment manufacturers and service providers. Due to a vast investment programme, the industry aims to upgrade its dilapidating generating assets, as well as its neglected transmission and distribution grid.