- At 60.8, the February manufacturing PMI rose from 59.1 in January, and topped estimates for 58.6. It was also the strongest read since May 2004.
- Checking sub-indexes, gains were seen in Employment, Inventories, Backlogs, and Supplier Deliveries. New Orders, however, dipped to 64.2 from 65.4, and Production to 62.0 from 64.5.
- Prices rose from an already perky 72.7 to an even perkier 74.2.
- A sampling of comments: “It seems the tax break for business is making a difference. Customers are spending more for capital equipment.” ... “Steel market is doing rather well. Everybody is out of what I need.” ... “Employment is one of our biggest challenges. No labor available.”
- The bond market is mostly snoozing through the good news, with the 10-year Treasury yield down a hair to 2.856%. TLT and TBT are roughly flat.
- ETFs: TLT, TBT, TMV, TBF, EDV, TMF, TTT, ZROZ, VGLT, TLH, UBT, SPTL, DLBS, VUSTX, TYBS, DLBL
- Now read: Quantitative Tightening Is Right On Schedule
Original article