by Chris Becker
The bad news continued overnight for long only investors as US stocks slipped following European bourses, with the worst losing streak in over a year. A below expectation release of US service sector activity hampered any attempts at a recovery, with the ISM down significantly on November’s level and factory orders falling again, four months in a row.
While the US is still in positive territory, but clearly decelerating, the same can’t be said in Europe where only Germany (surprise) registered any meaningful expansion and beat expectations, with France and Italy bumbling alongside the UK.