Europe's latest manufacturing data confirmed that activity was being supported by robust export demand, the easing back in the euro from last November's high of $1.51 to recently trade around $1.35, and leaner stock levels, said IHS Global Insight's European economist Howard Archer.
He went on: "If our situation was different, and we had lean stocks and were losing sales, we'd probably be more excited about it.
Forecasters are now pencilling in a smaller fall in GDP in the second quarter, of perhaps half a percentage point, and some are braced for a better figure if firms look to rebuild lean stocks faster.
Her mother was devastated, but Ms. Ambrose, armed with a lean stock portfolio she cobbled together while working there, felt liberated.
To deal with the problem, companies are signing longer-term contracts with suppliers or becoming a little less lean, stocking up on months instead of weeks of inventory.
It's not surprising, then, that most retailers tend to err on the side of leaner inventory levels, despite the risk of stocking out and losing sales.
When she was written about, reporters invariably leaned on stock phrases about her appearance, her outfits, her loyalty and access to Trump, her ability to read his moods, her stint as a model, and her upbringing in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Buoyant investors lean toward growth stocks, the value of which is expected to increase rapidly; when uncertainty prevails, the preference is for more conservative issues with stable records of earnings.
The decline represented the first time since April that businesses, including retailers, pared inventories, suggesting that companies wanted to keep stocks lean given economic uncertainties, including the effects of a possible war with Iraq.
Fundamental indexes lean toward value stocks and toward companies with smaller capitalizations.
