Business

Having blamed the weather for the Services PMI collapse into contractionary levels in February, the very modesty rebound (from 49.7 to 51.0) is a big let down: "The lack of a strong rebound in service sector activity in March is a big disappointment, as bad weather had been blamed for part of the weakness in the first two months of the year." Indeed, confidence remains subdued and as Markit warns "The US economy is going through its worst growth spell for three and a half years...and the worst may be to come as the greatest concern is the near-stalling of new business growth."

Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith of OfTwoMinds blog,

If the four structural trends highlighted below don't reverse, the middle class is heading for extinction.

Everyone knows the middle class is fading fast. I've covered this issue in depth for years, for example: Honey, I Shrunk the Middle Class: Perhaps 1/3 of Households Qualify (December 28, 2015) and What Does It Take To Be Middle Class? (December 5, 2013)

Back in October 2014 when hedge fund Starboard went "activist" on Darden Restaurants, it had a simple proposal for the company's preeminent restaurant chain, Oliver Garden: overhaul the entire menu. These were some of its suggestions:

By now it is common knowledge that when it comes to massive, taxpayer-backed hedge funds, few are quite as big as the Swiss National Bank, whose roughly $100 billion in equity holdings have been extensively profiled on these pages, including its woefully investments in Valeant and the spike in its buying of AAPL stock at its all time high.

• Belgium hunts 'third man' after Islamic State bombings (Reuters)
• Number of Attackers, Key Details of Brussels Assaults Remain Unclear (WSJ)
• Surviving Paris attacks suspect wants to return to 'explain himself': lawyer (Reuters)
• Brussels Suicide Bomber Slipped Terror Net (WSJ)
• Dollar rise hits commodities as Fed talks of tightening (Reuters)
• Treasuries Hold Gains Before Durable Goods, Jobless Claims Data (BBG)