Some sad news to end the week. Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, a leading light of British industry for decades, has died aged 78.

Lord Bhattacharyya founded Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the University of Warwick, credited with encouraging businesses to locate and grow in the Midlands. Over decades, WMG spurred manufacturing, technology, research teaching, and training in the region, and was a benchmark for bridging the gap between academia and business.

Lord Bhattacharyya also played a crucial role in Indian industrial giant Tata buying Coventry car maker Jaguar Land Rover, saving thousands of jobs.

Business Secretary Greg Clark has led the tributes, saying:

“I am deeply saddened by the death of Professor Lord Bhattacharyya. Kumar has been a heroic figure, helping establish in Britain a world-wide reputation for excellence and innovation in advanced manufacturing. Through the WMG, which he founded, and through his extraordinary energy and tenacity Kumar encouraged many firms to locate and expand in Britain. Hundreds of thousands of people in Britain owe their livelihoods to Kumar Bhattacharyya.

“It has been a personal privilege to be able to work so closely with Kumar, who helped inspire our modern Industrial Strategy, and to be his friend. Kumar will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him, and our thoughts are with his wife Bridie, their three daughters Anita, Tina and Malini and their family.”

Here are some more tributes:

American factories are suffering from the downturn overseas, says Capital Economics’ Michael Pearce.

Here’s his take on the decline in the US manufacturing PMI last month (which follows weak figures from Japan, China and the eurozone earlier today)

The further drop in the ISM manufacturing index is a clear sign that US manufacturers are getting hit by the broader global industrial downturn. While the shifting domestic policy mix is the main reason we expect economic growth to slow further this year, the weaker global backdrop poses a downside risk to our below-consensus view.

The decline in the ISM index in February to 54.2, from 56.6, was a littler sharper than most anticipated (Consensus 55.5, Capital Economics: 54.0), but is in line with the deterioration seen in most of the regional Fed surveys. Activity in the US manufacturing sector appears to be taking its lead from developments overseas, following the earlier plunge in both the German and Chinese PMIs. With the latter rising last month, there are at least some emerging signs that the global backdrop did not deteriorate much further in February.

This is why the rush to stockpile goods in the UK ahead of Brexit is a problem:

In a further example of economic weakness, US consumer spending fell by 0.5% percent in December, the biggest decline in nine years.

That follows a 0.6% gain in November, and indicates that American consumers ended 2018 cautiously -- as trade tensions intensified and the US Federal Government shutdown kicked off.

The Commerce Department also reported that personal income slipped 0.1% in January, the first decline since November 2015.

In 2018 as a whole, Canada’s economy grew by 1.8%, down from 3.0% in 2017.

Household spending and business investment both slowed during the year, as Statistics Canada explains:

The slowdown in 2018 was evidenced in most GDP components, with the exception of exports. The nominal growth of the compensation of employees was also higher in 2018.

Household final consumption expenditure slowed to 2.1% growth following a 3.6% increase in the previous year. Growth in overall business investment slowed to 0.3% following a 2.3% gain in 2017. The slowdown in 2018 reflected a 2.3% decline in housing investment and a 1.7% increase in non-residential construction and machinery and equipment investment. Exports volumes rose at a faster pace, accelerating from 1.1% growth in 2017 to 3.3% in 2018.

Growth in corporate earnings slowed considerably in 2018, as gross operating surplus grew 1.8% in nominal terms, following a 9.1% increase in 2017. Growth in compensation of employees was slightly higher in 2018 (+4.6%) than in 2017 (+4.3%).

With growth so weak, the Bank of Canada may feel unable to raise interest rates anytime soon:

The sharp slowdown in Canadian growth is fuelling concerns that the country could be close to recession....

Wall Street is also expected to start March on the front foot:

Here’s our news story on the worrying state of UK manufacturing:

Despite the drumbeat of (mostly) poor manufacturing data this morning, most European stock markets have risen today.

Traders seem to be clinging onto hopes that the US-China trade war will be resolved eventually, and banking that central bankers will remain patient and cautious rather than rushing to raise interest rates.

Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Forex.com, says the optimism which pushed shares higher in January and February has extended into March.....but it may not last much longer.

Razaqzada writes:

Thursday marked the last day of the month of February, a month which saw the major global equity indices extend their gains for the second consecutive month after they had tumbled at the end of last year. Sentiment improved on the back of positive US-China trade talks and as major central banks have re-iterated the need for interest rates to remain low for longer. For these reasons, we have seen the Shanghai Composite outperform her peers on a year-to-date basis, while ongoing Brexit uncertainty has held back the UK’s FTSE 100.

The key risk now is if no trade deal is achieved at the end of it all, although that looks increasingly unlikely. For now, therefore, momentum appears to be on the upside. But sooner or later, stock market investors will start focusing on something else.

You know the UK retail crisis is serious when it touches the Duchess of Cambridge.

LK Bennett, one of Kate Middleton’s favourite fashion brands, is preparing to fall into administration, putting around 500 jobs at risk.

My colleague Zoe Wood says:

LK Bennett, a brand favoured by the Duchess of Cambridge, has always described itself as bringing “a bit of Bond Street luxury to the high street” but has not been immune to tough high street trading as Britons cut back spending on clothing at a time when the cost of running high street stores has risen sharply.

After being hobbled by Brexit uncertainty for so long, UK exporters will be hoping for some progress on the new trade deals promised by Brexiteers.

But there’s bad news on that front. America is taking a tough line in its negotiations, demanding that Britain gives greater access to US agricultural products.

That could mean the UK drops its current ban on chlorinated chicken or hormone-fed beef, which are both barred from the EU today.

My colleague Lisa O’Carroll explains:

The outline requirements were published by the office of the US trade representative, headed by Robert Lighthizer, as required by Congress. The office said it was seeking “comprehensive market access for US agricultural goods in the UK”.

It was also looking to remove “unwarranted barriers” related to “sanitary and physiosanitary” standards in the farm industry, something that would put it at loggerheads with the UK environment secretary, Michael Gove, who has repeatedly said British food standards will remain the same if not be better than they currently are.

Another example of how life after Brexit will be rather tougher than some campaigners claimed before the 2016 referendum. But hardly a shock either - it’s entirely consistent with president Trump’s world view....

Britain’s stockpiling scramble is a boost to eurozone factories, says economist Sam Tombs of Pantheon.

Earlier this week, Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned MPs there simply aren’t enough warehouses to accommodate all the stockpiling needed for a no-deal Brexit.

But this hasn’t stoppedUK firms cramming raw materials, parts and finished goods into every available nook, cranny and dusty corner, in case supply chains freeze after Brexit.

Lee McDarby, Corporate IP Managing Director at moneycorp, says UK manufacturing is suffering “troubling times”

The weak Pound should be supporting manufacturers to export and yet new export orders have been almost stagnant for the second month in a row.

This signals a slowdown in the global economy, with importers unable or unwilling to buy British goods. Meanwhile the ambitions of manufacturers to sell their products abroad are inhibited by ongoing Brexit uncertainty.

UK factories both large and small were forced to cut jobs last month, Markit adds:

Manufacturers cut back on employment for the second consecutive month, with the rate of job losses the steepest since February 2013.

Employee numbers were reduced across the consumer, intermediate and investment goods sectors, and at small-, medium- and large-scale enterprises.

Bloomberg says:

Euro-area factories suffered their biggest drop in orders in almost six years in February amid mounting concern over trade tariffs and Brexit, dealing a blow to those anticipating a speedy rebound in momentum.

Dutch factories haven’t escaped the global slowdown either, with growth hitting its lowest level in 32-months in February.

Still, at least they kept expanding....

More gloom! Factory output in Italy has fallen at the fastest rate since 2013, as new orders continue to shrink.

The Italian manufacturing PMI dipped to just 47.7 in February, even worst than January’s 47.8, showing the contraction continued.

Not good for Italy’s hopes of escaping recession soon.

Poland’s factories had a very rough February, with growth shrinking at the fastest rate since the financial crisis.

We have some good news too, though!

India’s factory sector has posted its strongest growth in 14 months. It’s manufacturing PMI jumped to 54.3, from 53.9 in January, which is the best reading since December 2017.

Firms reported the sharpest rise in factory orders for 28 months, which pushed production and employment levels up.

This will please Delhi, after yesterday’s GDP data showed India’s economic growth has hit its lowest in five quarters.

Russia’s factory sector came close to contracting last month.

The Russian manufacturing PMI dropped to just 50.1 (just above stagnation), from 50.9 in January. That’s a five-month low. Markit blames weaker global demand conditions, and a recent VAT hike.

Economists are hoping that the downturn at China’s factories is bottoming out, after a long slowdown.

As this chart shows, the sector did contract in February - but much less sharply than in January:

Today’s PMI report shows that Chinese manufacturing exports fell again, but overall output and new orders rose - suggesting a pick-up in domestic demand.

Dr. Zhengsheng Zhong, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis at CEBM Group, explains:

“The subindex for new orders returned to expansionary territory in February after staying in contraction for two months. Despite slipping back into contractionary territory following a rise the month before, the gauge for new export orders hit its second highest level since March 2018. Domestic manufacturing demand improved significantly, and foreign demand was not deteriorating as quickly as last year.

Joe Hayes, economist at IHS Markit, says Japan’s factory slowdown suggests its economy may be weakening -- especially if Tokyo presses on with a planned sales tax hike:

“Sharper reductions in output and demand drove the Japanese manufacturing economy into contraction during the midway point of Q1, compounding reductions already recorded in January. Global trade frictions and weak domestic manufacturing demand pose considerable risks to Japan’s goods producers. As such, firms pared back expectations to near-neutrality. The rebound seen in the official Q4 GDP estimate does not appear to be reflective of underlying economic conditions in Japan.

“With the consumption tax hike set to come into play later this year, weak domestic demand will only heighten fears that the economy could be poised for a downturn. Focus turns towards service sector data, which will need to show signs of resilience in order to offset the manufacturing drag.”