Majority of German firms favour an ECB hike - Reuters

According to reporting by Reuters, at least two out of three German major firms support the European Central Bank undergoing rate hikes despite darkening growth figures.

Key quotes

In a Forsa poll conducted for consultancy firm EY, the DIW economic institute and the DGAP foreign policy think-tank, 62 percent of business managers said they would like the ECB to hike interest rates in the coming years. Some 27 percent said they wanted the ECB to continue its ultra-loose monetary policy.

A majority of German company executives support the euro zone’s bail-out measures for struggling member states, with 83 percent of respondents saying the bloc’s rescue mechanism are good and right, the poll showed.