Correcting earlier optimism This does not really come as a surprise, but Germany’s businesses have downscaled their previous optimism. The Ifo index just came in at 88.1 in November, from 88.4, correcting a rather unexpected improvement last month. While the current assessment component increased somewhat, it was the expectations component that brought down the headline index. The combination of a still-weak current assessment component and reversed expectations is another example of an economy that remains deeply stuck in stagnation. Still no convincing answer to structural challenges Like U2 sang almost 40 years ... (full story)