A SURVEY of fund managers has found that seven out of ten of them are expecting an improvement in the economy over the next 12 months. The Merrill Lynch survey for May represents a fundamental shift from October when 60% of respondents felt the outlook was only going to worsen. There was most excitement about the prospects for the Chinese economy.

- TIM GEITHNER, the US Treasury secretary, cheered the markets with his remarks about the economy. “The economy has clearly stabilised,” he said. “You’re seeing some improvement in credit markets . . . but this is still the most challenging economic climate the country has seen in generations.”

- THE International Monetary Fund stood by its forecast that the British economy would contract by 4.1% this year, a worse performance than the Treasury has predicted but

that it would contract at a slower rate in the near term than it has been doing. The IMF also praised the government’s reaction to the economic crisis.

- OIL prices reached levels not seen for months. The price of crude climbed to more than $60 for a barrel in New York, its highest level since November.

- MARTIN GILBERT, chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management, one of Britain’s biggest fund-management companies, said he thought that the recent improvement in the stock market was the real thing rather than a sucker’s rally. “We are getting towards the end of the really bad news and now it’s just a matter of working through what needs to be done, especially within the banking sector,” he said.

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