by Mike ‘Mish’ Shedlock
Mish Talk
On the surface the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing index was in positive territory at 2. Peeking under the hood, a significant number of problems become visible.
Philadelphia Fed General Activity Index
[…] Image from the Philadelphia Fed August 2016 Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey. Blue highlights mine.
The report states: “The index for current manufacturing activity in the region rose 5 points to only 2.0 in August, as the share of firms reporting an increase in activity (35 percent) barely exceeded the share reporting a decrease (33 percent). This is only the third positive reading of the index in the current year.”