Numbers point to U.S. recovery

A better-than-expected performance in the U.S. manufacturing sector and job market may be a sign that a full-fledged economic recovery is on its way south of the border, economists say.
Industrial production rose for the third consecutive month in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic states, according to data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank. Some economists believe this confirms the general direction of the economy, leading them to predict strong growth in the third and fourth quarters of 2003.
Bolstering the optimism about the economy is a decline in first time U.S. jobless claims, to 386,000 from 403,000 in the previous week.
Another key gauge of manufacturing, the Institute of Supply Management index, is expected to register a fourth straight increase in U.S. manufacturing activity when the number is released in early September.