Europe Economic Confidence, German Factory Orders Fall: Economy

European confidence in the economic outlook fell to the lowest in more than two years and German factory orders plunged as the euro area’s leaders struggled to contain a worsening fiscal crisis and global demand weakened.

An index of executive and consumer sentiment in the 17-nation euro area fell to 93.3 in December, the European Commission in Brussels said today. That’s in line with the median of 19 economists’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Factory orders in Germany, the region’s largest economy, dropped 4.8 percent in November, the most in almost three years, according to the Economy Ministry in Berlin.