Latest Flash PMI data signalled a deepening downturn in French private sector output at the start of 2013. January’s Markit Flash France Composite Output Index, based on around 85% of normal monthly survey replies, registered 42.7, down from 44.6 in December, its lowest reading since March 2009. Accelerated falls in output were recorded in both the manufacturing and service sectors in January. Manufacturers continued to report the steeper reduction in output overall, with the latest fall the fastest since September. In the service sector, the rate of contraction in business activity quickened to the sharpest for ... (full story)