The construction sector was hit by the political and economic uncertainty in the UK as the latest data showed the industry in decline.
There was a minor improvement in October compared with September, according to the closely-followed IHS Markit / CIPS construction purchasing managers' index (PMIs), but significant concerns remain.
The PMIs came in at 44.2 for October, with anything below 50 seen as a contraction, marking six consecutive months of sector decline.
Data is collected through interviews with purchase managers to test sentiment and real-time information on the state of an industry.
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The research also found that construction companies continued to reduce their workforce numbers in October, due to weak order books and concerns by managers of the near-term business outlook.
October's data was slightly up on September, which was 43.3 but is still close to the 10-year low recorded in June at 43.1.
Civil engineering was the worst performing area, with business activity falling at the sharpest pace since October 2009.
House building also decreased at a faster rate last month, with residential work seeing the biggest drop in three years.
Commercial construction also fell - for the tenth month in a row, but the speed of decline did slow, researchers added.
According to the data, companies said customers continue to put off making big spending decisions due to the political uncertainty from Brexit, and the lack of work was also driving costs down creating more widespread discounting.
Ladbrokes owner GVC has hailed a new chairman.
Lee Feldman will be replaced by Barry Gibson, who has been chairman of HomeServe for nearly a decade, growing it into a FTSE 250 business.
Mr Gibson joins the board on Monday and will take over as chairman on February 27.
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"I have been involved in a number of companies in the gambling sector over many years, and it is immediately clear to me that GVC has industry-leading technology, products, brands, marketing capabilities and people," the veteran of William Hill plc and bwin.party's boards said.
McDonald's chief executive officer has left the company after violating policy by engaging in a consensual relationship with an employee, the corporation has said.
The fast food giant said former president and CEO Steve Easterbrook demonstrated poor judgment. McDonald's forbids managers from having romantic relationships with direct or indirect employees.
In an email to workers, Mr Easterbrook acknowledged he had a relationship with an employee and said it was a mistake.
"Given the values of the company, I agree with the board that it is time for me to move on," Mr Easterbrook said in the email.
McDonald's board of directors voted on Mr Easterbrook's departure on Friday after conducting a thorough review.
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