FYI: This morning’s report on manufacturing activity in the New York area provides one of the first reads on how business activity is trending for the month of February, and the results were a bit weaker than expected. While economists were expecting the headline General Business Conditions index for the month of February to increase slightly from last month’s reading of 17.7, the actual reading missed to the downside coming in at 13.1. While the current conditions index (dark blue line) declined for the fourth straight month, the index for expected conditions six-months out rose for the fourth time in five months, hitting its highest level since January 2012. Eventually, this divergence has to resolve itself; the only question is in which direction that happens.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.bespokepremium.com/think-big-blog/empire-manufacturing-report-disappoints/
