By Shamim Adam
*April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Confidence in the global economy rose to an 11-month high as officials stepped up efforts to thaw credit markets, stocks rallied and some banks returned to profit, a Bloomberg survey of users on six continents showed.
The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index climbed to 21.2 in April from 5.95 in March, the biggest increase since the survey began in November 2007. A reading below 50 means pessimists outnumber optimists. Sentiment climbed the fastest in Asia and the U.S. as respondents around the world became more confident the worst may be over for their economies.
Lenders from Citigroup Inc. to JPMorgan Chase & Co. said they made money in the first two months of the year as zero interest rates and central bank purchases of government debt led to a jump in home loans. At the same time, manufacturing is declining and unemployment rising amid a drop in global demand that may see world trade shrink as much as 9 percent this year.
“The outlook was completely hopeless a month ago and now there’s a slight ray of hope that a recovery in financial markets will lead to a recovery in the broader economy,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, and a survey participant. “Things are not as gloomy as before. We will improve slowly, probably in fits and starts.”
The survey of more than 1,300 Bloomberg users was conducted between April 6 and April 10. Since the previous survey, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the “sharp decline” in the U.S. economy is easing, and the Group of 20 nations increased the resources of the International Monetary Fund.
*excerpt from the Bloomberg Press on-line