The Ifo business confidence index dropped to 106.7 in March from 107.4 in February.
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But the German business-confidence index in January was at its highest in over five years, whereas the French equivalent has been flat for three months in a row.
On Tuesday, the National Federation of Independent Business reported its index measuring the confidence of small business owners fell in July.
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The Barclays global business confidence index declined further in May, to -0.45 from -0.02 (three month moving average), the largest single drop in this series since December 2008, the investment bank said on Tuesday.
Nastier still was the September reading of the monthly Ifo index of business confidence, published by a Munich research institute.
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The closely watched Ifo index of business confidence hit a two-year low in June, suggesting that Europe's economic engine, Germany, is no longer immune to the troubles in the rest of the euro zone.
U.S. economic data due for release Tuesday includes the weekly Goldman Sachs chain store sales index, the weekly Johnson Redbook retail sales report, the Case-Shiller home price index, the consumer confidence index, new residential home sales and the Richmond Fed business activity survey.
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But business confidence is recovering, according to the Ifo index, which rose in February to a seven-month high of 88.9.
Retail sales have been rising, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index has been rising, consumer confidence indexes have been rising, and inflation remains under control.
Other U.S. economic reports due for release Thursday are many and include the weekly jobless claims report, the consumer confidence index, revised corporate profits, existing home sales, leading economic indicators, the Philadelphia Fed business survey, the monthly house price index, and foreign central bank holdings.
The Conference Board, a New York-based business research group, reported Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 37.7 in January, an all-time low going back to the index's inception in 1967.
The UK's manufacturing sector output continued to grow modestly, according to a key index of business confidence.
The index is based on a survey of 5000 households on their confidence in current and future business conditions, current and future employment and future household income.
Last month a much-watched index of business confidence rose by more than analysts had expected, perhaps because of the strong profits performance that was evident when the latest set of quarterly results were announced.
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