BERLIN – A closely watched survey suggests that German executives remain unfazed by the recent attacks in France or the emissions-rigging scandal at Volkswagen.
The Ifo business climate index for November rose to 109 points from 108.2 the previous month, with businesses seemingly more optimistic over both their current situation and the outlook.
The survey of 7,000 firms was carried out Nov. 2 to Nov. 24, so included responses after the Nov. 13 Paris attacks and after details of Volkswagen’s emissions-rigging scandal had emerged.
ING-DiBa economist Carsten Brzeski says Tuesday that the survey “suggests that the German business community is filing the Volkswagen scandal as a one-off” and is shrugging off the risk of a slowdown in emerging markets, notably China, and the “new uncertainty stemming from the Paris events.”
