Bad News From Philly Fed

Philly Fed comes in at -7.7, trouncing expectations of 7.0, and is the lowest number since August 2009, and first contraction since July 2009. Was the number even in the range of bearish expectations? Where is Steve Liesman - the survey respondents need some perking up: "the region’s manufacturing executives expect growth in business over the next six months, but optimism has waned notably in recent months." Those who look at the chart and think they are seeing the ECRI Leading Indicators are forgiven.