Business activity in the UK service sector increased at the fastest since in just under a year during August as market conditions remained favourable and new business growth healthy. Capacity remained under pressure, despite companies continuing to recruit additional staff at a marked pace. Less positive were ongoing competitive pressures, which placed a restriction on the pricing power of service providers, while confidence weakened to a 15-month low amid some worries over the strength of business pipelines. After accounting for seasonal factors, the headline Business Activity Index recorded 60.5. That was up from ... (full story)