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Uk services growth weakest in nearly two years in October
Business in Britain's dominant service sector grew at the slowest pace in almost two years in October and optimism about the outlook waned, a survey showed on Monday, pointing to a fragile economic recovery. Combined with a deeper contraction in manufacturing, the data contrasts with the strong economic expansion in the third quarter and recent upbeat retail figures and may make the Bank of England's monetary policy decision next week a close call. The main Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the service sector, measuring the change in business activity including income and chargeable hours worked, eased ... (full story)