BERLIN (AP) -- Business confidence in Germany rose in November for the first time since April, a closely watched survey showed Tuesday -- defying analyst expectations for Europe's largest economy.

Separately, the government estimated Germany's annual inflation rose to 3 percent this month -- its highest level in more than 13 years -- due to high prices for oil products, food and beverages.

Data from Germany are important to interest rate decisions by the European Central Bank, which has kept open the possibility of raising its rates even as the U.S. Federal Reserve cuts the cost of borrowing.

Germany's Ifo institute said its business climate index rose slightly to 104.2 from 103.9 in October, after slipping for six straight months. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected another decline to 103.4.

Companies assessed their current situation more positively than in October, but were "somewhat more cautious" regarding the six-month business outlook, Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn said.

"The results indicate that the currently strong economy is only gradually cooling," Sinn said.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of national banks moved higher Tuesday after Citigroup Inc. said it would receive a $7.5 billion investment from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Punk Ziegel & Co. analyst Richard Bove upgraded the bank.

Shares of Citigroup rose 53 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $30.33 in midday trading.

The Gulf Arab state will receive up to a 4.9 percent stake in Citigroup for its $7.5 billion investment.

Bove upgraded Citigroup to a "Buy" from "Market Perform," saying the company's dividend is likely well protected and that it's moving toward improving operations.

"The franchise value of this company may be the highest of any bank in the world and an active effort is under way to improve operations and it will be successful," Bove wrote in a research note.

But not all analysts are convinced the infusion of capital will be enough. CIBC World Markets Corp. analyst Meredith Whitney said in a research note the investment is only a first step for Citigroup improving its capital base. Citigroup will also likely need to sell assets and cut its dividend to improve cash flow, Whitney

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Freddie Mac halved its dividend and unveiled plans to sell $6 billion of preferred stock to bolster the mortgage investor's finances in anticipation of more losses, the company said Tuesday.

Freddie Mac, chartered by Congress to buy home loans from mortgage lenders, is the nation's No. 2 buyer and guarantor of home loans. It will sell $6 billion of a special class of stock.

The money raised through this sale will be used to buttress the company's balance sheet "in light of actual and anticipated losses," Freddie said in a statement.

Management of the stock offering was led by Lehman Brothers Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co., the Wall Street firms recently hired by Freddie Mac as financial advisers to help it examine possible new ways of raising capital.

The company's board declared a dividend of 25 cents for the fourth quarter, compared with a dividend of 50 cents in the third quarter. The company said it needed the dividend cut -- its first since it became a public company in 1989 -- to hold on to enough cash to maintain its financial flexibility and satisfy regulators.

In 2004, McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac agreed with its regulator, the Office of Federal Housing

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices plunged Tuesday, picking up downward momentum amid concerns that a slowing economy might reduce demand for crude just as OPEC members are considering an increase in production. Prices were also pressured by apparent progress at the Mideast peace summit in Annapolis, Md.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery dropped $3.28 to settle at $94.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract is nearly $5 below its all-time high of $99.29 set last week.

Stocks dropped sharply Monday, reigniting worries among energy traders that the economy is slowing and will use less oil and gasoline. Wall Street rebounded Tuesday, but the oil market was still clearly uneasy.

Both the International Energy Agency, an energy policy adviser to 26 predominantly Western industrialized nations, and OPEC have recently cut their demand forecasts for the rest of this year and next year, in part because of high prices.

Meanwhile, there is increasing evidence that Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries oil ministers will decide at a meeting next week to boost production, and a number of reports suggest several OPEC