from Zero Hedge:
The May Chicago PMI is out and contrary to the herd of clueless Wall Street idiots, better known in polite circles as economists, it came at 56.6 on expectations of 62.0, a collapse drop from the 67.6 before. This is the worst monthly drop since the economy imploded back in October 2008, and the second largest two month drop since 1980! A quick look at the New Orders index indicates it was the lowest since September 2009. But the good news: the economy is still in expansion... for about 1 more month. The release says it all: "NEW ORDERS and PRODUCTION posted their largest declines in several years...but remained positive" and "INVENTORIES accelerated buildup" - thank god for artificial economic expansion. And from the respondents: "Fuel cost are going to have a major impact on business activity in a negative way that will slow recovery to a crawl." Uh, what recovery? Just you wait until QE3 is announced in 3 months. And elsewhere, the May consumer confidence completed the trifecta of bad news, coming at 60.8 on expectations of 65.4, and down from 66.6.
