The US ISM services index for February paints a very mixed picture of the state of the biggest sector of the economy. The headline index was disappointing at 52.6 (versus 53.4 in January) coming in below the 53.0 consensus forecast, yet business activity and new orders improved nicely to 57.2 and 56.1, respectively, with both more than a full point higher than their six-month average, where a number above 50 represents expansion and anything below signals contraction. However, employment was particularly soft, dropping into contraction territory at 48.0. This is the second sub-50 print in the past three months with ... (full story)