New fall in economic outlook: bank poll

Study unveils growing concern over rising costs, slowing markets

BEIJING / SHANGHAI - Business confidence fell in the fourth quarter, the second consecutive drop, amid growing concern over a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

The business confidence index was down 6 percentage points more than the third quarter to 41.7 percent, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said in a statement on Thursday.