Business Confidence in Germany Hits Highest Level in Almost Two Years

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By Douglas A. McIntyre Published
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Germans, buoyed by an improving economy in Europe, and likely a modest recovery of the U.S. economy, have become spectacularly confident about business prospects. According to official statistics bureau Ifo:

The Ifo Business Climate Index for industry and trade in Germany continued to rise. Companies are more satisfied with their current business situation. Their optimism regarding future business developments – although slightly cautious – also grew. The German economy moved up a gear.

The Business Climate index rose to 105.7 from 106.2 in August. The Business Situation Index reached 112 up from 110.1 in July, and the Business Expectations Index rose to 103.3 from 102.4.

The improvement was spread across most industries.

According to Kai Carstensen Director of the Ifo Center for Business Cycle Analysis and Surveys:

The business climate indicator in manufacturing rose significantly to its highest value since April 2012. Assessments of the current business situation were considerably better than last month. Business expectations also continued to brighten. Firms expect stronger impulses from export business.

The business climate index in retailing edged downwards. This is primarily due to somewhat less positive assessments of the current business situation, while business expectations brightened slightly. In wholesaling, on the other hand, the business climate improved significantly. Wholesalers are far more satisfied with their current business situation. Furthermore, business expectations are positive for the first time since April 2012.

In construction the business climate index fell, but nevertheless remains above its long-term average. Assessments of the current business situation are slightly less favourable than last month. Contractors are more cautious about future business development

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
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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