Firms in the French service sector posted a slower rise in business activity midway through the fourth quarter. The result came amid softer overall new order growth, albeit with international sales increasing at a slightly quicker pace. Meanwhile, businesses upped the rate of job creation to the quickest since July. Despite the rise in employment, backlogs of work expanded further. Looking forward, firms were their most optimistic towards the business outlook for seven months. The headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit France Services Business Activity Index – which is based on a single question asking respondents ... (full story)