The rebound in confidence was most marked in Germany, while Spain, France and Italy all lagged.

BBC: Spain's recession worsens in the fourth quarter

Factories saw a 6.3% rise in demand for non-defence capital goods, pointing to a rebound in business confidence.

BBC: US durable goods orders fall in January

On Tuesday, the US registered a surprisingly strong rebound in consumer confidence for February, and a jump in new home sales in January.

BBC: US durable goods orders fall in January

All the key recovery ingredients: the ongoing rebound in employment, stronger consumer confidence, higher equity prices and credit growth are underpinning the recovery, the group says.

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It remains to be seen if the data heralds a rebound in consumer spending, but Wall Street drew confidence from the figure and reversed its early declines shortly into the session.

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In response to the effects of poor consumer confidence, Kathwari set new initiatives in place to help sales rebound and fuel growth.

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Citi's troubles reflect a lack of confidence in the ability of the U.S. banking system to rebound anytime soon.

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Now, improving consumer confidence and a thawing in the auto loan market has helped fuel the rebound that has now seen sales increase for seven straight months.

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