Julian Jessop took to social media after the publication of the latest monthly Business Climate survey by the Munich-based Institute for Economic Research( IFO).... The IFO canvasses the views of 9, 000 businesses in manufacturing, the service sector, trade and construction, asking them about their current view of the business situation and their expectations for the next six months. The October index stands at 97.7 points, 1.2 down compared with last month.Mr Jessop, the former Chief Economist

The Ifo Institute in Munich announced that its business climate index has dipped for the first time in six months, from a decades-long high.... But he warned that manufacturing was being hampered by the “ scarcity of intermediate products ”.... The Ifo chief added the shortage “ is becoming more critical, and more and more companies complain of a lack of skilled workers ”....

Audi, the group’s biggest profit contributor, also extended the summer recess at its two factories in Germany by a week. There have also been warnings from Daimler AG and BMW, with both citing the dearth of chips. Yet the supply problems are far from confined to the auto industry.... A survey by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, among some 3, 000 firms across various sectors showed 83% of them reeling from rising prices or shortages of components and raw materials....

According to Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, the 11-nation group has confirmed it will hold a meeting in the next to discuss the UK's membership.... Not only did the minister reveal the timeline of the meeting but he also claimed the UK's membership of the group would be a significant addition.... He said on Wednesday:" I believe that the importance of Britain as a strategic partner and the expansion of the high-level rules beyond the Asia-Pacific are extremely significant." It was agree

A global supply crunch is threatening to derail Germany's economic recovery with the country's auto industry suffering the biggest downfall.... Companies from BMW, Siemens AG and Volkswagen are all reporting a lack of supply of materials from the most basic wooden pallets to memory chips. Thomas Nuernberger, managing director of sales at Mulfingen, Germany-based EBM Papst, a maker of industrial fans, told Bloomberg: “ In my career we haven’t had a situation with so many commodities being scarce