German Business Confidence Climbs To Highest In 4 Months On Easing Recession Fears

Germany's business sentiment strengthened to a four-month high in December as the economic downturn is feared to be less severe than previously estimated, results of a closely watched survey by the ifo Institute revealed. The business climate index rose more-than-expected to 88.6 in December from 86.4 in November, data published by the Munich-based ifo Institute showed on Monday.