Investor optimism surges in US, Europe

Optimism, always tough to quantify, is rebounding among investors - at least by one measure. In recognition of the growing interconnectedness of world markets, the Gallup Organization and UBS, an international financial services firm, launched a European version of their US investor optimism index this year. What it shows: Optimism on both sides of the Atlantic surged in the past quarter.

Optimism remains much higher in the US than in the EU 5 - France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Spain. American investors continue to express their confidence in the financial markets, despite the recession and the events of Sept. 11. Last month, 72 percent of US investors (of 1,000 polled) said now is a good time to invest, up slightly from December. Less than half of European investors agreed.