ECB Faces Moribund Growth, Sticky Services Inflation Amid Rate Cut Debate

The European economy is in a recession, basically, and price pressures, although no longer acute, are persistent. That's an unfortunate conjuncture. Preliminary PMI data for January released Wednesday confirmed that the situation in Europe remains tenuous as the ECB ponders the right time for rate cuts. At 47.9, S&P Global's composite gauge for the region rose to a six-month high, but it's still in contraction territory. The last expansionary print was in May. The color accompanying the