The ISM Chicago Business Survey, is a regional view of the national economy by the Institute for Supply Management. The PMI is a diffusion index. Readings above 50 indicate expansion. Readings below 50 indicate contraction. The Chicago PMI reading combiners manufacturing and services into one report unlike the national ISM reports. The Bloomberg Econoday consensus estimate for the Chicago PMI was 47.0 in a range of 44.5 to 47.5. This was an unexpected crash. But it is a volatile diffusion index where direction matters more than magnitude. Manufacturing ISM Contracts Six Straight Month, New Orders Down Eight Months On ... (full story)