To those who are concerned the economy is headed toward a second recession, (or the long slow depression that Paul Krugman fears), James Hamilton lays out a series of reasons not to worry.  Hamilton argues that the economy is still growing--albeit very slowly.  His first piece of evidence: the PMI Composite Index for June.  At first glance, this looks like an indication that things are getting worse in the manufacturing sector:

 Here´s why Hamilton thinks this is not a sign of a downturn:

The ISM manufacturing PMI index for June was 56.2, the lowest value since December. But any value above 50 means that a plurality of managers reported that June was better than May. The uninterrupted string of above 50 readings we've seen going back to August of 2009 means that mangers have seen improvements month after month. A value of 56.2 is higher than that seen in 80% of the months over the last ten years.

This is just one of many economic indicators Hamilton explains in defense of his measured optimism.  Read his full post here.