The optimists got a break today. This morning’s economic updates brought encouraging news via initial jobless claims and the flash estimate of Markit’s US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI). The PMI report was particularly strong. It’s too soon to write off the weak numbers that have been harassing the macro profile lately, but the data du jour at least breaks the recent run of discouraging reports. In turn, it’s a bit easier to entertain the theory that a thaw in the weather will juice the business cycle in the weeks ahead.
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