Supermarket sales rose 7.2 percent, suggesting that a broad economic recovery is under way.

It could help a broader economic recovery by making American exports cheaper and more competitive abroad.

A broader recovery in Japan would also bolster the global economy.

To put it bluntly, China is fast becoming a drag on global demand rather than helping support the broader recovery.

That weakness seems, on the face of it, to contradict recent reports from purchasing managers suggesting a broad recovery in manufacturing.

Some analysts said Compaq could be counting too much on a broad recovery in the personal computer market in 1992.

It means the crisis will continue at varying levels of intensity throughout 2012 and probably beyond, until the region is able to sustain broad economic recovery.

"We'll need broad economic recovery here to nail down the recent gains in residential real estate activity."

But the agency saw other signs as well of the beginnings of broader recovery.

If rates rise as part of a broad economic recovery, incomes will rise too, limiting the impact on home prices and values.