Statistics point to slowdown

Any more weak economic data and the call will go out to the grand pooh bahs of the National Bureau of Economic Research, the arbiter of all things cyclical, to convene in order to determine the start date of the recession! While the 0.4% increase in industrial production in May came as a big surprise, the monthly manufacturing barometer from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve could not have been worse. The overall index, which is not a composite but reflects instead manufacturers' assessment of the level of general business activity, plunged 18.5 points in June to 1.7, a level not seen in ...