thursday, page-3

I went short on open. I remember the last time it trickled down to $20 we had a day where it gapped 8 percent on open then continued on down. Possible repeat here.

On a more positive note;

China’s PMI rebounded notably from 45.3 to 49.0 in February, providing further evidence that the economy may be in the early stages of recovery. The
de-stocking process that plagued fourth quarter growth appears to be wrapping up, as orders (45.0 to 50.4) and production (45.5 to 51.2) have returned to
expansion, while assessments for both finished goods (43.5 to 47.7) and raw material inventories (43.9 to 45.6) improved. Stimulus spending is boosting orders for materials and machinery. The employment gauge also rose from 43.0 to 46.1, suggesting that fewer factories are cutting capacity. Importantly, the new export orders index jumped nearly 10 points from 33.7 to 43.4, likely a
result of the passage of the holidays and the easing in financing conditions for exporters. Imports also rose modestly from 39.9 to 41.8.

Positive: The rebounding PMI confirms that de-stocking pressures continued to ease in February and that stimulus programs have already turned from words
into orders. This supports a near-term rebound in production even though export demand remains depressed. However, there are still some areas of potential weakness, such as the consumer goods and non-manufacturing
sectors that could face a longer period of adjustment. The rebound seen in manufacturing activity would likely be sustainable as long as state-driven investment continues to flow strongly.