The case for expecting trouble for the US economy looks a bit weaker in light of today’s update on manufacturing activity in March. Markit’s flash estimate of its purchasing managers index (PMI) for this cyclically sensitive sector ticked higher for this month. Score one for the optimists who say that the recent run of soft numbers is only a temporary affair born of a harsh winter.
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It’s only natural that investors have a preference for focusing on the positive. Everyone wants to earn higher returns and excel in all things financial. But for most folks, there’s more opportunity on the negative side of money management: reducing if not eliminating the mistakes. It’s easier to add value by pinching errors vs. trying to emulate Warren Buffett. But this subtle but powerful truism is too often overlooked, which probably explains why market-trailing returns are the rule rather than the exception.
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● US existing-home sales rise 1.2% in February | USA Today
● Chicago Fed: US economic growth slows in February | TradingFloor.com
● PMI: Eurozone growth gathers momentum, near 4-year high | Markit
● PMI: German private sector output rises at strongest rate in 8 months | Markit
● PMI: French output rises for 2nd successive month in March | Markit
● PMI: China’s factory output contracts, touching 11-mo low | Markit
● PMI: Japan’s production growth slows to weakest since Oct 2014 | Markit