Hardly any hope for a rapid recovery in equipment investments - business climate in the leasing sector remains poor

The business climate in the German leasing sector remains poor. The appraisals of the current situation are still very unfavourable, although the expectations for the summer half year point towards a moderate continuation of the recovery. The investment indicator, jointly compiled by the Ifo Institute and the Federation of German Leasing Companies, does not signal any significant revival of investment activity in 2010, following the extreme decline in equipment investment (including miscellaneous installations) by more than a fifth in 2009. The investment indicator points to a decline of between 2% and 3% in the first three quarters 2010. A slight increase in equipment purchasing will not come until the final quarter of the year, according to the model. On average for 2010, this means a nominal minus of 1% to 2%.