- Artur Mas, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia
Beginning of the week in the EU brought us almost empty economic data session, as the only news were coming from Apennine and Iberian peninsulas. According to the Italy's statistical office Istat, confidence in country's manufacturing sector gained significantly in September. The morale gauge climbed to 104.2 from a revised 102.7 points recorded in August, and marked the highest results since May 2011. Meanwhile, markets expected the reading to stay at just 102.7 points. At the same time, the Consumer Confidence Index rose to 112.7 in September from 109.3 in the prior month, registering the highest reading since May 2002. Despite deceleration in the latest Italian PMI measure, which remained firmly in expansion territory, the boost in confidence in manufacturing sector confirmed that Italy's economy is on track to recovery.
Meanwhile, in Spain pro-independence parties emerged with a majority of seats in regional elections in Catalonia, but fell short of their target to capture 50% of the votes. Separatists jointly obtained 47.8% of the vote in a record turnout of 78%, which is a big boost to an independence campaign that has been losing support over the last two years. Nevertheless, Spain's constitution does not allow any region to break away, so the prospect of Catalonia's independence remains highly hypothetical.
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