FTSE slides as services sector worst since foot-and-mouth

The FTSE 100 is extending early losses after data from the vital UK services sector showed the largest decline in activity in a decade.

Building on fears about a lack of economic growth in the UK and an uncertain future for the country's banks, the latest services sector data piled on the pressure as it showed the sector is grinding to a halt. The Markit/CIPS Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 51.1 in August from 55.4 in July. This was the second-largest fall on record, and confounded forecasts for a gentler drop to 54, although the index stayed above the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction. The data is another blow for the UK, given its importance for the UK economy. The sector accounts for ov...