European Industries Shrink as Global Slowdown Deepens: Economy

European services and manufacturing shrank further, industrial orders had the biggest drop in almost three years and China’s factories showed signs of contraction as a global slowdown deepened.

A euro-area composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in both industries rose to 47.2 this month from 46.5 in October, indicating persisting contraction, London-based Markit Economics said today. The region’s industrial orders slumped 6.4 percent in September from the previous month, while China’s manufacturing may shrink in November by the most in more than 2 1/2 years, two separate reports showed.