German business confidence surges

A key measure of German business confidence recovered in November after a surprise decline the month before, indicating optimism remains in Europe's biggest economy despite a sputtering recovery on the continent.

The Ifo index of business confidence, released Friday, rose to 109.3 points in November from 107.4 in October, the first decline after five months of increases.

The November figures suggest Germany's business community remains hopeful over the next six months even though recovery in the 17 countries that share the euro currency is rocky.

Meanwhile, the Federal Statistics Office confirmed the German economy grew by 0.3% in the third quarter. Analysts say growth, which was down from 0.7% in the spring, was mostly the result of government spending.

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