Ifo Business Climate Index: Germany “Holds Its Course”

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By Douglas A. McIntyre Published
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Germany’s very, very modest economic improvement continued. However, the pace is slow enough that continued problems among other European Union nations could still drag it under. And those problems do continue, based on recent purchasing managers index (PMI) and unemployment results. The German Ifo Business Climate Index posted 105.9 in June, barely up from 105.7 in May. However, the number was down from 107.4 in February.

The organization reported on the business climate in Germany:

The Ifo Business Climate Index for industry and trade in Germany continued to rise. Although assessments of the current business situation are slightly less positive, firms are increasingly optimistic with regard to their future business outlook. The German economy holds its course.

The business climate indicator in manufacturing continued last month’s increase. Manufacturers are once again slightly more satisfied with their current business situation. They are also clearly more optimistic about future business developments. Export expectations in particular have increased sharply.

In wholesaling, the business climate index fell. Wholesalers are far less satisfied with their current business situation and more sceptical about their business outlook. The business climate also cooled down slightly in retailing. Retailers are no longer quite as satisfied with their current business situation as last month. Their business outlook, however, continued to brighten.

In construction the business climate index edged downwards. Although contractors report a slight improvement in their current business situation, they are somewhat less optimistic about future business developments.

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About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

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