ISM Pops Up

The good news emerged today--the ISM jumped up (quite a bit, actually).

The Institute for Supply Management, based in Tempe, Ariz., said its manufacturing index registered 54.7, above the March reading of 50.9 and Wall Street's expectation of 51.

If the index manages to hang around that number, or increase in the next few months, the slowdown in manufacturing may be over for a while.

Good!