German business morale rose unexpectedly in December even as Europe’s biggest economy went into a strict lockdown to contain a second wave of coronavirus infections, a survey showed on Friday. The Ifo institute said its business climate index rose to 92.1 from an upwardly revised reading of 90.9 in November, and Ifo linked the improvement mainly to manufacturers logging high volumes of orders and an improvement in export expectations. “Companies were satisfied with their business situation,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest said. “They are looking at the first half of the year with less scepticism. But the lockdown is ... (full story)