A further slowdown in the service sector recovery coupled with a slight moderation in manufacturing contraction does not amount to any meaningful improvement to the overall economic backdrop. Mixed news - but no real improvement in total The latest official PMI data were not uniformly bad. The manufacturing index actually rose slightly, to 49.7, and this is the third consecutive increase since the May trough of 48.8. But it remains below the 50-level that is associated with expansion, and so merely represents a moderation in the rate of decline. That may be of some comfort to those of a sunny disposition. The ... (full story)