European construction is moving out of its trough. After a deep contraction in 2024 and stagnation in 2025, activity is returning, led by infrastructure, the energy transition and selected residential markets. While the recovery will be gradual and uneven, it is real. For companies active in the equipment rental industry, where growth typically anticipates and outpaces growth in the construction market, this is a favourable setup, though not a risk free one.

The parliamentary election scheduled for this Sunday represents the most significant challenge to the hegemony of the Fidesz–Christian Democratic People's Party coalition since its ascent to power in 2010.

Inflation is, by definition, a lagging statistic. By the time official CPI prints confirm that price pressures are rising or easing, markets have already spent weeks, often months or even years, trying to anticipate that outcome. That is why fixed income investors spend so much time on market-based measures of inflation expectations. They are imperfect, but they offer a forward-looking view of where inflation is expected to settle across different horizons. So before asking what inflation means for markets today, it is worth starting with how those expectations are measured, and how they help investors and policymakers judge the appropriate central bank response.