This week produced another period of strong US economic data, as optimism in the equity markets continues to grow precipitously. The January employment report was fairly in-line with expectations, while ISM manufacturing, construction spending and University of Michigan of confidence all exceeded expectations. Also, overseas there was encouraging data from China showing that the manufacturing sector is alive and well, as the gauge came in at 52.3 compared to consensus of 52.0. In the Euro zone, many countries in the region released their PMI numbers and the results were generally better than expected.