Belgian business confidence survey confirmed that sentiment continued to deteriorate in October, similar to the message of the EMU PMI’s released on Monday. The headline index fell to -10.4 from -9.4 in September and compares to a consensus estimate of -10. Sentiment peaked in March 2011 (+6.2) and slid since uninterrupted lower. The index is well below its 10-year average (-5.17), but still somewhat above levels that marked the shallow recession in the early years of the previous decade. Looking to the details, there was apparently a silver lining in an otherwise bleak report. Indeed, manufacturing sentiment improved slightly, contrary to the other sectors. However, closer analysis showed that the underlying picture, also in manufacturing deteriorated.