How the World Works

Business confidence survey

A regular poll asking company managers how business is going now and how they expect it to go over the coming months. It is a leading indicator: it comes out weeks before official growth figures, and expectations often turn before output does. It measures mood, not production.

Example

Germany’s ifo business climate rose to 90.2 in October 2026, a sixth monthly rise: expectations climbed to 91.6 while firms’ view of current business slipped to 88.8.

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