Seemingly insurmountable national debt in many eurozone countries, volatile equity markets and political uncertainty about reform may mean that Europe is battling a financial storm on many fronts, but it appears that such woes have not yet sparked a total crisis of business confidence.

In 2011, 51% of respondents to the Financial News Regulatory Snapshot Survey said the prospects for their business were good or very good. This year, an only slightly more cautious 46% indicated that they are upbeat about their prospects. Those expecting business to remain "neutral" have increased from 36.9% in 2011 to 41% this year. At the lower end, fewer businesses are predicting a "poor" year - 10.5% compared to 11.7% last year. However, 2.1% are expecting a "very poor year", when none did in 2011.