NEW YORK — Hotels, construction firms and retailers saw business shrink in October as slower spending and declining employment sent the service sector into contraction, another gloomy sign for the economy. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said Wednesday its service sector index suffered a sharper-than-expected drop to 44.4 in October from 50.2 in September. For the full story visit www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-econ6-2008nov06,0,7367446.story
