US business activity falls for the first time since 2013 amid the coronavirus outbreak

[McFurd]

Markets Insider - 2/21/2020 - Carmen Reinicke - Business activity in the US contracted for the first time in seven years as the spread of coronavirus weighed on manufacturing and service companies. The IHS Markit purchasing managers' index fell 3.7 points to 49.6 on Friday, slipping below the key 50-point mark that signals a contraction. The last time the index, which measures composite output at factories and service providers, fell below 50 was in October 2013 in the midst of a US government shutdown. Read more @ https://markets.businessinsider.com/new ... 1028928165