Pablum? I had to look that one up.
dictionary.com
Here is "The Times" on USA manufacturing orders improvement...
Surprise surge in US manufacturing
BY LEA PATERSON, ECONOMICS EDITOR
[Ahhh, thank goodness the USA has turned the corner...pb -g-]
THE American economy appears set for a swift return to growth after a surprise surge in new manufacturing orders bolstered hopes of an early end to the country’s recession.
The US could report positive economic growth as early as the first quarter of 2002, analysts said, if the December leap in a closely watched survey of manufacturing is sustained into the new year.
The near four-point jump in the headline manufacturing index published by the National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM) fuelled speculation that America’s factory sector could soon claw its way out of its 17-month-long decline, pulling the rest of the economy up with it.
The NAPM’s headline index jumped to 48.2 in December, up from 44.5 in November, and substantially ahead of Wall Street predictions of an increase to 46. The index remained below the 50 breakeven level consistent with a return to growth in manufacturing, but analysts said the speed of the bounceback in the survey suggested America’s industrial sector was well on the road to recovery.
Economists were particularly encouraged by the surge in the new orders component of the index published by the NAPM, which yesterday renamed itself the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The new orders component, which is seen as a good leading indicator of industrial growth, leapt to 54.9 in December. This was its highest level since April 2000.
“This is a hugely encouraging report, pointing clearly to a vigorous recovery,” Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics, said. “All the key indices rose, with the best news being the 6.1-point jump in new orders. In the past this level has been consistent with manufacturing output growth of about 5 per cent.”
New figures also suggested there could be light at the end of the tunnel for the UK’s beleaguered manufacturing sector, although analysts said the scale of any industrial bounceback in Britain was likely to be more muted than in America.
The headline index of UK manufacturing activity published by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) came in at a weaker than expected 45.2, the lowest reading for almost three years. But the detail of the numbers showed that the pace of decline in new orders had weakened markedly, bolstering hopes of recovery.
A sharp fall in manufacturing employment growth, now its lowest in the survey’s ten-year history, was the key reason for the drop in the headline CIPS index.
Analysts argued that this employment weakness reflected past manufacturing difficulties, and said little about the outlook for the sector. “The rise in the new orders index to its highest since July may be an indication the down cycle in manufacturing is approaching a bottom,” Ciaran Barr, at Deutsche Bank, said.
Recovery prospects in the UK were also bolstered by a 1 per cent fall in business failures during 2001, down from 40,847 to 40,532, according to D&B, the business information company. In the eurozone, hopes of an economic bounceback were fanned by a rise in the headline purchasing managers’ index for manufacturing to 44.1 last month.
Despite the upbeat economic data and the successful launch of euro notes and coins, stock markets had a lacklustre day’s trading. Major eurozone bourses closed lower, while London’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.9 points to 5,218.3.
Argentina set to scrap peg to dollar
Argentina is set to move quickly to scrap the one-to-one peg of its peso to the dollar, Eduardo Duhalde, the new President, signalled. His aides indicated that he will abandon the peg, but try to limit a devaluation to about 30 per cent through a link to a basket of foreign currencies. He has also torn up plans for a new currency, the argentino, to circulate alongside the peso. Analysts said the peso was trading in grey markets at between 1.3 and 1.4 to the dollar, equivalent to a 30-40 per cent fall.
thetimes.co.uk
In the mean time, I will keep an eye on this thread
Subject 50782
To be consistent, it also should see the hiring opportunities too though. |
