Macro check-up: A two-speed economy
Outside of the UK, which is experiencing real activity data consistent with a solid 0.4% QoQ of real GDP growth, mature market economies, and China are experiencing a slowdown in real growth.
Digging one level deeper, we find a two-speed economy in those countries: as confirmed by last week’s Flash PMIs (Purchasing Managers' Indices), Manufacturing activity is in contraction, while Services are carrying the economy. This is negatively impacting economies that rely more heavily on goods production such as Germany (which looks like it is heading for a second quarter of negative growth) and China.
In the US, the last time the Manufacturing PMI dipped sustainably below 50 was in November 2022. There...