Here's what's got economists concerned about Europe right now. German firms are increasingly treating current headwinds as structural problems, not just cyclical bumps. Think about what that signals—when businesses stop expecting a bounce-back and start planning for permanently higher costs, investment dries up. You get trapped in a vicious loop: weak capex feeds into slower productivity, which justifies even more cautious spending. Lower growth follows naturally. It's the kind of pessimism that becomes self-fulfilling if it takes hold across the corporate sector. Worth watching closely, especially for anyone tracking how major economies might influence broader asset markets and investor risk appetite.