Bloomberg U.K. manufacturing unexpectedly shrank for the first time in three years in April, dealing a shock blow to the economy after growth slowed in the first quarter. Markit Economics said its factory Purchasing Managers Index dropped to 49.2 from 50.7 in March, below the key 50 level that divides expansion from contraction. Economists had forecast an increase to ...

  Bloomberg The European Commission predicts Italy will fail to meet its debt-reduction goal this year and sees the country’s economy growing less than PM Matteo Renzi’s government estimates. Italy’s debt ratio will remain at 132.7 percent of gross domestic product in 2016, the same level as last year, the European Union’s executive branch said on Tuesday in its spring ...

  Bloomberg More expensive iPhones, fewer foreign home buyers and a whole lot of unknowns — that’s what some U.K. corporate bosses say the country can expect if it votes to leave the European Union. In February, nearly 200 chief executive officers signed a letter calling for Britain to stay. Others say the country should leave, though many have declined ...