German Business Outlook Hits Two-Year High on Fiscal Boost (1)

German companies are the most upbeat about the economy in more than two years as an imminent boost to public spending outweighs concerns over US tariffs and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

An expectations index by the Ifo institute rose to 90.7 in June from a revised 89 in May. The reading is the highest since April 2023 and exceeds the 89.9 median estimate in a Bloomberg poll of analysts. A measure of current conditions also rose.

“Expectations brightened in particular,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest said Tuesday in a statement. “The German economy is slowly building confidence.” ...