While the ECB may have hiked interest rates by 50bps this morning, the July Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index showed that the US economy may be slowing. The headline print for the large manufacturing district was -12.3 vs an expectation of 0 and a previous print of -3.3. Components leading the headline print lower were Employment (19.4 vs 28.1 last) and Prices Paid (52.2 vs 64.5 last). Regarding employment, it should also be noted that the initial claims print for the week of ending July 16th was 251K, the highest level since February. Today’s employment data may be giving a signal as to where the jobs data is ... (full story)