The best days of the recovery are behind us. That seems to be a reasonable conclusion from the latest factory data, which shows the growth in output and new orders slowing in August. Overall, looking across all areas of manufacturing, the Markit/Cips purchasing managers index (PMI) registered its slowest rate of growth since June last year. Adding to the sense of anti-climax, most of the companies covered by the survey said they expected expansion to be solid rather than spectacular. To those who hoped the most recent data represented a temporary dip before a second surge in output, there must be disappointment. It ... (full story)