LET IT BE THUS AND ONLY THUS

The economic news below is very good indeed.
This is very good news, - and all my shares except Thus went up today, and Superscape as I predicted yesterday rose 12% today, so with this good economic news it must be Thus's turn to rise next week, hence a good time to top up. IMHO.
From the F.T. com. the Financial Times:-

"Manufacturing data support recovery hopes
By Alan Beattie in Washington
Published: January 2 2004 19:36 | Last Updated: January 2 2004 19:36 "

"Financial markets started 2004 on a bullish note on Friday as surveys suggested manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic were vindicating investors' rising optimism about the global economic recovery."

"In the markets, long-term interest rates jumped higher in the US and rose in the eurozone following strong surveys for the US and Germany for December. The figures suggested that the troubled manufacturing sector, which has borne the brunt of the global economic slowdown, was joining the recovery."

"The US Institute for Supply Management's regular survey of the manufacturing sector showed new orders rising at their fastest rate for more than 50 years in December. The employment component in the survey also showed a rapid rise, suggesting that the weakness in manufacturing jobs might be coming to an end."

"The overall index, which weights together responses on orders, output, employment and other factors, shot higher, rising to 66.2 in December from 62.8 in November, well above the neutral 50 level. Economists had expected a slight fall."

"The strength in December's data provides significant encouragement for prospects in the first quarter of 2004," said Norbert Ore, chairman of the ISM's survey committee."

"Yields on US Treasury bonds, though remaining within established trading ranges of recent months, rose by more than 10 basis points to a three-week high just below 4.4 per cent."

"The comparable purchasing managers' survey for the eurozone rose less sharply than in the US. But manufacturers in Germany, the eurozone's largest economy, reported the largest activity increase in three years, with exports continuing to rise despite the strength of the euro. The survey for the UK also showed the sector expanding at its fastest pace in four years, comfortably outstripping economists' forecasts."

"The figures are surveys rather than hard data. But they have a reasonably good relationship with official figures, and suggest that optimism about the year ahead is gaining ground."

"Synchronised global recoveries are self-reinforcing, and that is what is happening with these surveys," said Peter Perkins, a global investment strategist with The Bank Credit Analyst, a research company. "This is the first synchronised global upturn in a decade."

"The euro dropped below $1.26 against the dollar after the US data were released."

"Additional reporting Paivi Munter and Jennifer Hughes in London."

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