Editor Allan Leibowitz comments on the news of the week

It hasn't been often that we've started a month with positive economic news, but the major markets have entered February in growth mode. Latest reports from Wall Street say the market has been encouraged by optimism in recent manufacturing data which raises prospects for economic improvement. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index shows that factories continue to raise output in the US while the Commerce Department reports the fifth straight month of rising construction spending.
So, buoyed by the market gains, happy February.