German business sentiment hits record low in December

A key survey of German business sentiment hit a record low in December, the Ifo economic instute said on Thursday as Europe's biggest economy and the eurozone wallowed in what could be historic recessions.
German business sentiment plunged for the seventh straight month to a record low of 82.6 points in December, the Ifo index showed, and business activity slumped across the 15-nation eurozone, which is in its first recession ever.
"December's fall in the German Ifo business climate index brings further evidence that, far from weathering the storm, the German economy is in the midst of it," Capital Economics economist Jennifer McKeown said.
The index's previous all-time low of 84.8 points had been set in February 1993, two years after Ifo began compiling the data in a reunited Germany.
"Germany is now in the grip of its most severe recession since the end of the Second World War," Commerzbank chief economist Joerg Kraemer said in a comment that was echoed by many analysts.