France’s private sector economy broadly stabilised midway through the fourth quarter, latest ‘flash’ HCOB PMI® data revealed, following a moderate decline in October. Helping to pull the economy out of its contraction trend was a fresh rise in services activity, mostly offsetting an accelerated reduction in factory output. A similar result was recorded in new orders, where the composite decrease slowed to only a fractional pace amid stronger demand for French services. Net employment fell, however, marking the first drop since July amid job losses in both monitored sectors. Meanwhile, business confidence picked up, ... (full story)