On the eve of the Fed’s favourite inflation report - the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) for February 2025 is due, it is timely to go through other economic reports (released so far) to get a sense on the health of the US economy. This is crucial given that the Trump govt is about to disrupt the world again come 02 Apr 2025 when the next drop of tariffs take effect. Economic reports - Week starting 24 Mar 2025. (1) S&P Global Flash US PMI - March 2025. For March 2025, the S&P Global Flash US Composite PMI Output Index was 53.5. This is an increase of +2.0 from February 2025’s 51.6. Indicating an expansion in private sector activity. Services sector contributed significantly to growth, with the flash services PMI rising to 54.3, surpassing expectations of 50.87. Manufacturing

On Wed, 26 Mar 2025 when US market was crashing across the board, $AT&T Inc(T)$ rose (+1.24%) instead. What happened ? Apparently, rumour has it that AT&T is in talks to acquire $Lumen Technologies(LUMN)$ consumer fiber-optic network business (only) for $5.5 billion. YTD (in 2025), AT&T stock has advanced +21.11%, as of 26 Mar 2024. (see above) This comes about as the Telco giant focuses on its "convergence" push — selling landline broadband and wireless services in product bundles. According to Bernstein Research, Analyst, Laurent Yoon: AT&T would be acquiring LUMN’s fiber optic network assets at a good price. The acquisition could be a beneficial opportunity for AT&T, aligning with its