More signs of a reviving global economy

Besides the tremendous rebound in global trade (ah, the deaths of globalization are greatly exaggerated), we now see ancillary signs of recovery.

First, an FT story notes Maersk, the world's largest container ship company, announced a sharp return to profit in the first Q and predicted the future would be much brighter than previously anticipated.

Back home, the WSJ notes that venture capitalists are ramping up activity when it comes to acquisitions and IPOs.  One analyst said, "This kind of activity we haven't seen in years, not since the 1999 and 2000 time frame."

Finally, FT says IBM plans on buying $20B worth of companies in the next five years, more than it did in the previous decade.