Italy’s service sector rounded off 2017 in a positive fashion, recording strong gains in activity and new orders amid reports of positive market conditions. As a number of companies grappled with capacity pressures at their units, staffing levels were raised to the strongest degree since March. Less positive was an acceleration of input price inflation to a three-month high, whilst output charges remained under pressure. Business expectations were positive, but slipped to the lowest recorded by the survey since the start of the year. After accounting for seasonal factors, the headline Business Activity Index – which ... (full story)