-
Eurozone companies see sharpest drop in new orders for almost three years
The eurozone private sector remained in contraction at the end of the third quarter of the year as waning demand led to a further decline in activity. The overall reduction in output was again led by manufacturing, but the service sector saw activity decrease for the second month running. Although firms continued to expand their staffing levels in September, the rate of job creation was only marginal amid evidence of spare capacity and the gloomiest outlook since the final quarter of last year. Despite the weak demand environment, input costs continued to rise sharply, and the rate of inflation even picked up from ... (full story)