UK factories report biggest output drop in over 40 years

LONDON (Reuters) - British factories reported the sharpest fall in output in more than four decades during the three months to May as around half of them implemented partial shutdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Confederation of British Industry said.The CBI said its balance for output over a three-month period dropped to -54 in May from -21 in April, its lowest reading since the series began in July 1975.A gauge of industrial orders sank to its lowest since October 1981 at -62 in May..