German Business Confidence Unexpectedly Rises to Record High

German business confidence unexpectedly rose to a fresh record high in February as booming exports spurred hiring and consumer spending.

The Munich-based Ifo institute said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, increased to 111.2 from 110.3 in January. That’s the highest since records for a reunified Germany began in 1991. Economists predicted the index would hold steady, according to the median of 38 forecasts in Bloomberg News survey.