The worst news came from the manufacturing sector, as the ISM factory index dropped sharply last month, and was worse than anyone expected.
The surprise slow-down in the euro zone private service sector was met with similar results in manufacturing, which dropped below expectations to 48.4 in the factory index from 49.0 in August.
Also at a March 2009 low was the HSBC sub-index for factory input prices.
The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its index of factory activity slipped to 51.3 percent.
The Institute for Supply Management said its index of factory output rose to 52.7 from 50.8 the month before.
The Reuters Purchasing Manufacturer's index of factory activity fell to 47.3 in July, down 0.6 points from a month before.
The factory purchasing managers' index was unexpectedly the same in April as in March, 48.6, better than the decline that had been expected but still below the 50 level that separates growth from recession.
The merry month of May was anything but, with its reports of deteriorating conditions in April that were much worse than forecasts, as measured by the ISM Mfg Index, the ISM Non-Mfg Index, Factory Activity, and Industrial Production.
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Giving a big boost to stocks was the release at 10:00 a.m. of the ISM Manufacturing Survey, showing a second straight month of expansion, with index of factory activity rising to 51.7 in October, up from up from 51.5 in September.
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The ISM index of national factory activity fell to 43.5 in September from 49.9 in August.
Thursday features the January ISM services index, December factory orders and the first look at fourth-quarter productivity.
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Other data includes the ISM Manufacturing Index on Monday and factory orders on Tuesday.
Among reports of recent weeks that came in better than forecasts were consumer sentiment, retail sales, home sales, construction spending, auto sales, factory orders, the ISM Mfg Index, the ISM Non-Mfg (service sector) Index, and so on.
Finally, in addition to the jobs report Friday, we also have the factory orders and the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index.
If the stock market survives all of these reports, jobless claims come out Thursday, and the monthly jobs report, Factory Orders, and ISM Non-Manufacturing Index round out the week on Friday.
Also out this week are factory orders on Tuesday and the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index on Wednesday.
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El Salvador, for example, pays its bureaucrats far more than the average factory worker but still ranks towards the bottom of the corruption index.
On Tuesday, we get the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index, followed on Wednesday by the ADP Employment Report and factory orders.
The ISM Manufacturing Index declined in June for the fourth straight month, while factory orders fell 1.2% in June.
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Tuesday brings the Case-Shiller Home Price Index and consumer confidence numbers, followed by the ADP Employment Report and factory orders on Wednesday.
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On Thursday the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank noted that factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region continued to slow in June with its index posting minus 17.1 compared to 15.6 in May.
In the U.S., mixed in with the still mostly positive economic reports in the headlines have been reports that Durable Goods Orders unexpectedly fell 4.0% in January after rising 3.2% in December, factory orders unexpectedly fell in January, as did construction spending, while the ISM Mfg Index unexpectedly declined in February.
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It was also reported this week that Factory Orders rose 1.8% in November, which no doubt contributed to the report that the ISM Mfg Index rose again in December, to 53.9, its highest level in six months.
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