German investor confidence jumped in December on speculation Europe’s largest economy will gather momentum next year. 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, climbed to 6.9 from minus 15.7 in November. Economists forecast a gain to minus 11.5, according to the median of 38 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The German economy will contract this quarter and stagnate in the first three months of next year as the sovereign debt crisis curbs demand for its goods in the euro area, ... (full story)