LIVE: Thousands Of Companies Around The World Reveal The Health Of The Global Economy

REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiParticipants watch South Korean President Park Geun-hye make a speech on small screens fitted in their seats during a ceremony celebrating the 95th anniversary of the Independence Movement Day in Seoul March 1, 2014.

HEADS UP: Economies around the world are releasing their February manufacturing purchasing managers index reports, and this is our scorecard.

The anecdotes from the reports will be scrutinized carefully as economists attempt to separate short-term weather-related disruptions from the longer-term economic trends.

During the month, the eastern U.S. was battered by winter storms while the western U.S. struggled with droughts. Droughts also hit Brazil, sending coffee prices surging. Indeed, temperatures around the world have actually been unusually warm.

In terms of the real economy, all eyes will be focused on China, which continues to show signs of slowing. On Saturday, we learned China's official manufacturing PMI hit an 8-month low of 50.2.

Here's our scorecard with highlights:
--------------------------------------------

Japan: JMMA Manufacturing PMI: 55.5 - down from 55.5 in January
-Sharpest rate of job creation in seven years, Prices charged increase at sharpest pace since October 2008

Brazil: HSBC Manufacturing PMI: 50.4 - down from 50.8
-Input cost and output price inflation both accelerate

China: Official Manufacturing PMI: 50.2 - down from 50.5-An eight-month low

Australia: Ai Group Manufacturing PMI: 48.6 - up from 46.7-The exports sub-index collapsed to 25.8 from 34.1.

South Korea: HSBC Manufacturing PMI: 48.5 - down from 49.5-The first sub-50 reading since September

China: HSBC Manufacturing PMI
Vietnam: HSBC Manufacturing PMITaiwan: HSBC Manufacturing PMI
Indonesia: HSBC Manufacturing PMIIndia: HSBC Manufacturing PMIRussia: HSBC Manufacturing PMIIreland: Investec Manufacturing PMINetherlands: NEVI Manufacturing PMIPoland: HSBC Manufacturing PMITurkey: HSBC Manufacturing PMISpain: Markit Manufacturing PMICzech Republic: HSBC Manufacturing PMIItaly: Markit/ADACI Manufacturing PMIFrance: Markit Manufacturing PMIGermany: Markit/BME Manufacturing PMIEurozone: Markit Manufacturing PMIUK: Markit/CIPS Manufacturing PMIBrazil: HSBC Manufacturing PMIU.S.: Markit Manufacturing PMICanada: RBC Manufacturing PMIMexico: HSBC Manufacturing PMIGlobal: JPMorgan Manufacturing PMIGreece: Markit Manufacturing PMI

At the beginning of each month, Markit, HSBC, RBC, JP Morgan, and several other major data gathering institutions publish the latest local readings of the manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) for countries around the world. Read more about it at Markit.