U.S. and China Lead April Collapse in Manufacturing

According to a Bloomberg report, more signs have emerged from recent reports confirming that global manufacturing is buckling. In particular, purchasing manager indexes across Asia, along with new numbers in Europe (revised on May 2), showed new or persisting contractions in factory activity for the month of April. In sum, both U.S. and Chinese manufacturing lead the way down, but factory giants in South Korea and Taiwan showed sharp drops in their indices, with falling orders and production cutbacks. Thailand, Malaysia, and Indochina experienced similar drops, though not quite as sharp. Europe remains in contraction, says Bloomberg’s report, “with only the prospect of a spending binge to rearm ... likely to buoy the situation.”