Some good news from China. The Australian stock market might be having one of those down days but there was some good news this morning for the Australian economy. A monthly survey by the Beijing-based National Bureau of Statistics and the Chinese Federation of Logistics and Purchasing shows the nation’s economic recovery is strengthening, The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 55.2, the highest level in 18 months. Figures above 50 on the index indicate a growing demand for manufactured goods.

Some bad news from Copenhagen. The assessments of the likely outcome of the Copenhagen climate change talks seem to get gloomier by the day. The preliminary chats by the bureaucrats from the nations of the world appear to be making very slow progress. Already it seems to be accepted that there will be no binding Treaty agreed to when their bosses get together at the end of the year. This weekend the head of the international group leading the fight against climate change sounded downright gloomy as he spoke on the eve of a final round of negotiations being held in Barcelona. Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change accused countries of pushing science aside in favour of self-serving “political myopia” ahead of the vital Copenhagen summit.

The much previewed challenge. A challenge to the leadership of NSW Premier Nathan Rees must be the most previewed such event in political history. In Crikey we have regularly updated the tens of stories — they must now be approaching the 100 mark — that have predicted the Premier’s political death isince he took over the poisoned chalice just over a year ago. This week it is the turn of the Sydney Morning Herald and its Sunday stablemate the Sun Herald to announce the death riters.

Whether they will prove any more accurate than the previous non-stories I guess we will find out in a week or two but I must say that Sunday’s effort accusing the Premier of about to become a phone tapper seems a bit over the top.

Going away again. Those pesky advertisers don’t love me so farewell to the Breakfast Media Wrap on Crikey each morning. We are being into retirement again but now that I’m in the habit of early morning wake ups I will put a version on my blog and see if there are actually any readers. You can leave a comment or two there if you like about what things I should and should not be covering in my daily look at the nation’s news.