British business output shrank for the first time in more than a year and tax increases in the new government’s first budget hit hiring and investment plans, a survey showed, a fresh setback for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s push for economic growth.
The preliminary S&P Global Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index, published on Friday, fell to 49.9 in November – below the 50.0 no-change level for the first time in