Business activity in the euro area grew at the fastest rate for nearly a year in April, according to provisional PMI® survey data. The improvement indicates that the region continues to pull out of the recent downturn, albeit growing only modestly amid divergent sector performances. Increasingly robust service sector growth was nevertheless accompanied by signs of a further moderation of the manufacturing downturn. Jobs growth also accelerated as business confidence remained elevated by recent standards. Especially solid growth outside of France and Germany was again reported, but Germany also returned to growth in ... (full story)