A widely watched survey that tracks German companies’ views toward the business climate in the country fell further to begin the year. The ifo Institute’s monthly Business Climate index, based on surveys of roughly 9,000 German companies, dropped by 1.1 points in January to 85.2 points, defying analyst expectations of an improvement. The Munich-based economic research institute published the latest results on Thursday. The index also dropped in December. The companies surveyed assessed both the current situation and their expectations for future business less favourably, according to ifo. “The…