One cannot entirely avoid the start of Markit's PMIs for August. Their shorthand message: Japan still bad; Eurozone recovery relapsing; UK and US surging.
Elsewhere, the data merely added more evidence for strands already evident: in the US existing home sales jumped 24.7% mom, and in the UK retail sales volumes rose 3.6% mom. In both cases, these no longer look like the 'inevitable' rebounds from very depressed levels - rather they look like actual expansions.
