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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| US service sector in sharp fall | US service sector in sharp fall |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The US service sector contracted in January for the first time in almost five years, a survey has shown. | The US service sector contracted in January for the first time in almost five years, a survey has shown. |
| The Institute for Supply Management's index of service sector business activity fell to 41.9, from 54.4 for the previous month. | The Institute for Supply Management's index of service sector business activity fell to 41.9, from 54.4 for the previous month. |
| The dividing line between growth and contraction is 50. The unexpectedly weak reading stoked fears that the US would fall into recession. | The dividing line between growth and contraction is 50. The unexpectedly weak reading stoked fears that the US would fall into recession. |
| Wall Street shares tumbled on the news, while the UK's FTSE 100 fell 1.8%. | Wall Street shares tumbled on the news, while the UK's FTSE 100 fell 1.8%. |
| "On face value, this index tells you that this recession we are heading into will be worse than the one in 2001," said Christopher Low, chief economist at FTN Financial. | |
| The disappointing report follows data out last week that showed the first decline in employment since August 2003. | |
| Employers cut 17,000 jobs from their payrolls in January, Labor Department figures showed, shocking economists who had expected 80,000 jobs to have been created. | |
| The fear is that an increase in unemployment will further curb US consumer spending, which will weigh heavily on economic growth despite sharp US rate cuts and tax incentives from the White House. |