Global PMI moves above 50

With all the bad news we continue to see in the labor market (yes, the trend is favorable but 200,000+ declines in payrolls for 12-consecutive months highlights the severity of the recession), I wanted to take a moment to point out another batch of decent news.

Yesterday, the JPMorgan Global All-Industry Index jumped from 48.2 in July to 52.1 in August, the first time it has been above 50 - the line that marks contraction and expansion - since May 2008 and the highest level since December 2007, when the U.S. economy first entered the recession.

"The manufacturing sector continued to lead the rebound in global economic activity. Manufacturing production levels rose for the third month running and to the greatest extent since April 2006. Meanwhile, service sector activity rose slightly for the first time in fifteen months," the survey revealed.

The U.S. consumer remains unconvinced and companies continue to shed employees. But after watching the global economy go into a free-fall late last year, it is heartening to see the economy begin to rebound.