A sluggish US economy looks to be losing what little steam it had. China is at risk of importing a slowdown as Europe and the US slog along. Not a good environment for the glass-half- full crowd even with the central banks doing all they can to prime the economic pumps. Equities are taking a hit across Europe and North America after the poor US manufacturing data (a supposed bright spot) and EUR/USD is in a broad retreat. USD/JPY is a bit of an outlier, prompting talk of semi-official support for the pair ahead of quarter-end. EUR/USD is down at 1.2860, eying the 200-day average at 1.2825. (full story)