Britain's rapid economic recovery eased as expected during the third quarter, as services output growth slowed and manufacturing expanded at the weakest pace in 18 months, official data showed on Friday. Gross domestic product expanded by 0.7 percent in the July-September period, compared with 0.9 percent in the second quarter, in line with forecasts. Compared with the third quarter of last year, growth was 3.0 percent, the Office for National Statistics said, down from 3.2 percent in the second quarter. That meant total economic output was 3.4 percent bigger than in the first quarter of 2008, its previous peak. ... (full story)