European services and manufacturing output contracted at the fastest pace in more than two years in October, adding to recession signs as government leaders try to stamp out the sovereign-debt crisis.
A euro-area composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in both industries fell to 47.2 from 49.1 in September, London-based Markit Economics said in an initial estimate today. That’s the lowest since July 2009 and below the 48.8 forecast by economists, according to the median of 17 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.
