The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Germany increased 0.7 percent in December to 107.2 (2010 = 100), following a 0.7 percent increase in November, and a 0.1 percent decline in October.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for France was unchanged in December, remaining at 110.0 (2010 = 100), following a 0.1 percent decline in November, and a 0.1 percent increase in October.

According to research by International Data Corporation (IDC), the Western European printer and multifunction (MFP) market showed a slight decrease in unit terms of 0.8% when compared to the same period a year ago as consumer inkjet shipments contracted. This gave a Q414 market figure of 6.84 million units and represents actual a unit decline of 52, 000 units. On a more positive note, revenues increased as more high speed laser MFP laser and business inkjets shipped.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.K. increased 0.1 percent in December to 112.1 (2010= 100), following a 0.3 percent decline in November, and a 0.4 percent decline in October.

German plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers recorded a slight increase of one per cent in sales last year. As a result, turnover in core machinery manufacturing remains unchanged at the previous record figure of 6.8 billion euros.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Spain increased 0.1 percent in December to 101.5 (2010 = 100), following a 0.6 percent increase in November, and a 0.2 percent increase in October.

With sales down 12 percent, the situation of the German printing and paper technology industry remained tense in 2014. The calculated order intake was at the level of the previous year; paper technology showed a 29 percent increase, but printing machine sales went down five percent. The order volume for paper converting technology also decreased by six percent.

Enterprise Mobility on Top of Investment Agenda of Many Businesses

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the Euro Area increased 0.2 percent to 103.3 (2010=100) in December, following a 0.2 percent increase in November, and 0.1 percent decrease in October.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Phablets Market in the EMEA Region 2015-2019" report to their offering.

The analysts forecast the Phablets market in the EMEA region to grow at a CAGR of 28.81% over the period 2014-2019

• UK businesses plan widespread adoption of smartphones
• Early adopters see net ROI and are keen to recommend approach
• Emerging trends include desktop videoconferencing, FMC and CYOD
• Adoption of cloud-based tech finally becomes a reality for UK plc

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for France was unchanged in November at 110.0 (2010 = 100), following a 0.1 percent increase in October, and a 0.2 increase in September.