US, Canada lead world recovery

The recovery is gathering steam worldwide. The United States and Canada are mapping the way as the leading economic indexes of seven industrial nations, with the exception of Japan, continue to rise steadily. This would indicate continued economic growth ahead.

The latest Conference Board International Scoreboard reports show the US with leading indexes arcing upward at an annual rate of 16 percent. Canada is pushing 15 percent. The leading indexes of the United Kingdom, West Germany, France, and Italy are also on the move. For Japan, where economic weakness has prevailed since last fall, indexes are still falling at an annual rate of 4 percent.

''For the seven countries as a group, however, the indexes are now more clearly on a recovery track than they were six months or even three months ago, '' the analysis reads.

While Japan is lagging Western economies now, new research by the Conference Board indicates that Japan and other major Asian countries of the Pacific Rim tend to follow the US both into and out of recessions. The data suggest that turning points in the US economy have normally been reflected in Japan's economy 9 months later and in South Korea some 7 months later.