While a global economic slowdown has been widely expected, only US economic data have looked recessionary recently. Yesterday's economic reports were no exception.
Bloomberg reports the US data:
Orders for U.S. durable goods unexpectedly fell in February, led by a slump in demand for machinery, as the housing downturn and the prospect of a recession made companies hesitant to invest.
The 1.7 percent drop in demand for products made to last at least three years followed a 4.7 percent decrease in the prior month, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The department also reported that sales of new homes dropped 1.8 percent last month to a 13-year low.
But Europe generally surprised on the positive side, with business confidence unexpectedly rising in March in Germany and France. That should help keep the ECB in relatively hawkish mood after yesterday's speech by President Jean Claude Trichet, reported by Bloomberg yesterday:
"The current monetary-policy stance will contribute to achieving our price-stability objective," Trichet said in Brussels today...
Trichet said Europe's economy is still "sound," suggesting he sees no immediate need for rate cuts...
The Italians might argue with the latter though. Italian business confidence declined to its lowest level in 2½ years in March.
But Japan continues to weather the economic storm in relatively good shape, its export growth accelerating in February to an 8.7 percent rate from a year earlier from 7.6 percent in January.
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