Economy
In reply to the discussion: STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, December 15, 2011 [View all]Ghost Dog
(16,881 posts)(Reuters) - The decline in the euro zone's private sector eased a little this month, but a recession still looks inevitable with the region's periphery struggling badly, a key business survey showed on Thursday.
Markit's Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which measures the activity of thousands of euro zone companies, rose for a second month in December to 47.9 from 47.0, confounding expectations for a fall to 46.5.
But the preliminary reading lingered well below the 50 mark that divides growth and contraction for a fourth month.
Survey compiler Markit said France and Germany were responsible for the improved headline figure, while debt-laden peripheral countries remained firmly in contraction territory...
... Williamson pointed to steep falls in incoming new orders and very low levels of confidence about the year ahead in the services industry as reasons to expect more decline...
/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/15/uk-eurozone-pmi-idUKTRE7BE0KG20111215