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German Business Confidence Rises as Bundesbank Sees Growth Signs
German business confidence rose for a second month in a sign that Europe’s largest economy is overcoming the soft patch it hit earlier in the year. The Ifo institute’s business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, advanced to 105.5 in December from 104.7 in November, when it rose for the first time in seven months. That matches the median estimate of 38 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The Bundesbank has said the German economy is showing signs of strengthening after it effectively stagnated in the middle of the year and managed only a “modest start” to the fourth quarter. Even so, the ... (full story)