Source: Yahoo! Finance

A gauge of U.S. manufacturing activity that fell to a 26-year low Monday followed similarly weak readings in Europe and China, fueling fears of a deepening global downturn.

The Institute for Supply Management’s index of manufacturing activity for November fell to 36.2 from October’s 38.9. The reading was worse than Wall Street economists’ expectations of 38.4, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. A figure below 50 indicates the sector is contracting.

The November reading is the lowest since May 1982, the Tempe, Ariz.-based ISM said. The report is based on a survey of corporate purchasing managers.

The report came the same day that the National Bureau of Economic Research, a private group, said the U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007.

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