Latest Flash PMI® survey data signalled a further expansion of business activity across Japan's private sector in September, but the rate of growth was the slowest recorded in four months. Trends diverged by sector, with a further strong rise in service sector activity contrasting with a steeper reduction in manufacturing production. At the composite level, overall new work increased at a slower and only marginal rate, and new export business continued to decline. Employment meanwhile expanded at the weakest rate in two years amid relatively subdued business confidence and historically strong cost pressures. The ... (full story)