In this week’s episode of ‘Cliff Notes on the Global Manufacturing Picture’, host Cliff Waldman considers two significant disruptions to the U.S. manufacturing outlook. The emergence of a new variant of Covid-19 has generated rapid government action as well as much confusion around the world. And evidence that inflation has hit three-decade highs suggests the risk of a more aggressive policy response by the Federal Reserve than most were expecting. Both of these disruptions have significant consequences for financial markets, for the broad U.S. economy and for the manufacturing outlook. Cliff reviews recent data on economic growth and manufacturing activity and offers conclusions about the impact of an unexpected turn in the pandemic and an escalation of price pressures.