Whether we like it or not, when the United States gets the hiccups, the rest of the world does, too. In other words, the US makes the rules far beyond its geographical jurisdiction. Manufacturing was down nearly 51.3% in North America, which deflated good data from Europe, where jobs and manufacturing are on the rise.
The news spread throughout global markets, which reacted with major losses because they are worried about unstable emerging economies and bad manufacturing data from China, where growth continues to flag. The Ibex lost 1.9% on the day and settled at 9,916.7 points. After a long period of upward growth, a spreading case of the hiccups reminds us that the recovery is still uncertain.
