Level of the US' total manufacturing output index in February, after a strong .8 rise for the month, according the latest data from the Federal Reserve. That means US manufacturing output is still 2.8% below the peak and baseline year of 2007. That's the highest level seen since that year, tied with December of 2013, before a dip in January. Will 2014 finally be the year US manufacturers get past the 100 mark and move above 2007 levels some seven years later? We believe Yes.

Range of likely reduction in global economic output from a global mean temperature increase of 2.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, according to an upcoming report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Some details of the report were released this week. We will note, however, that is quite a broad range. 2% would indeed have quite an impact, lowering global GDP by trillions of dollars. The .2% level, however, would have negligible impact and really be hard to measure. The report forecasts that climate change will also reduce median farm yields by up to 2% per decade for the rest of the century, against a backdrop of rising demand that is set to increase by 14% per decade until 2050 - but the numbers all seem more speculation than fact.