The Skeptical Speculator

There were more signs on Wednesday that the economic recovery in the euro area is losing steam.

In Germany, GfK's consumer sentiment indicator fell to 8.6 going into September from 8.9 in August. It was the first fall in the index in more than 1-1/2 years.

In France, INSEE's manufacturing-sentiment index fell to 96 in August, the lowest since July 2013, from 97 in July.