German investor confidence dropped for a ninth month amid increasing political tension in Europe, even as the European Central Bank steps up its stimulus. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectations, which aims to predict economic developments six months in advance, fell to 6.9 in September from 8.6 in August. The gauge has decreased every month since December when it reached a seven-year high. Economists forecast a drop to 5, according to the median of 33 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The German economy, Europe’s largest, contracted in the ... (full story)