US business activity picked up in October after back-to-back months of stagnation, helped by a rebound in factory demand and an easing in service-sector inflation. The S&P Global flash composite output index advanced to a three-month-high of 51, one point above the demarcation line between expansion and contraction. Factories registered new order growth for the first time since April, and business activity at service providers also improved. Meanwhile, the composite gauge of selling prices fell to a three-year low, driven by a pullback in inflationary pressures at service providers. At those businesses, measures of ... (full story)