UH-OH: GLOBAL PMI DOWN TO NEAR 2009 LEVELS

PMI = PURCHASING MANAGERS INDEX - AN INDEX MADE BY ARE THE FOLKS WHO ARE IN DIRECT, CLOSE, PERSONAL CONTACT WITH THE ECONOMY.

FROM THEIR ANALYSIS AND SENTIMENT - AND THE REACTION IN THE MARKETS, LOOKS LIKE WE'RE ABOUT TO GO INTO A GLOBAL RECESSION:

• GLOBAL ECONOMY-Asian factories sputter as Europe sinks -PMIs:

* Spreading euro crisis plagues global economies
* Euro zone factory PMI hits 44.0, lowest since June 2009
* China official PMI slips to 50.1, eight-month low

• China's official factory purchasing managers' index fell to an eight-month low of 50.1 in July, suggesting the sector is barely growing

• The contraction in the U.K.’s manufacturing sector deepened sharply in July to the lowest level since May 2009 as weakening demand from Asia added to a growing list of economic headwinds, data from Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply showed Wednesday.The figures come hot on the heels of lender Nationwide’s disappointing U.K. house price index, and suggest the recession-hit economy has a tough road to recovery as confidence and demand plummet.

• Denmark's purchasing managers' index dropped 6 points in July and fell below the neutral value for the first time since November, due mainly to stark declines in the sub-indices for new orders and production, the Danish purchase management and logistics lobby DILF said Wednesday. The PMI for July showed a value of 46.5 points, down from 52.5 in June and 53.7 in May, DILF said in a statement. The Danish PMI measures orderbooks, the weighted average of production, workforce, delivery times, inventories of finished goods, input costs and purchasing quantities, with 50 points being the neutral value. Most notably, the level of new orders measured in July fell 18.6 points to 45.7 points, from values of 64.3 and 56.5 in June and May, respectively. Production also dropped markedly to 47.5 points from 59.3 in June and 56 in May. Dilf said the decline in new orders to below 50 indicates that the level of incoming orders is still in decline, which again could point to a further weakening of production in the months ahead.

• Australia Shares End Down 0.2% After Weak PMI Data