(RTTNews) - Growth in Chicago-area business activity saw a significant slowdown in the month of March, MNI Indicators revealed in a report released on Friday. She added, "The Fed's break from monetary tightening amid global uncertainty and softer inflation is seen underpinning optimism in the business environment." The steep drop by the business barometer came as the production and new orders indexes pulled back from last month, although they remained appreciably above their January levels.