German Business Optimism Grows After Merz’s Spending Push
An works on a section of a Leopard 2 tank gear transmission in Augsburg.
Photographer: Michaela Rehle/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
German business optimism rose to the highest level since June 2024 as Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz readies hundreds of billions of euros of spending to modernize the economy.
An expectations index by the Ifo institute increased to 87.7 in March from 85.6 the previous month — more than the 87.3 estimate in a Bloomberg poll of analysts. A measure of current conditions also advanced.