While it's always been easy to cherry-pick good news, it's rare that something good happens worldwide at the same time. But the most recent purchasing manager indices from Markit Economics show that manufacturing is getting healthier in both the Eurozone, China and the US (a PMI above 50 marks expansion, and below marks contraction).

It's not unabiguously good. While manufacturing is now growing faster in the US, and has switched from contraction to mild expansion in China, the Eurozone manufacturing sector is still shrinking, just at a slower rate than it has been for eight months.

Still, upticks all round.