A rebound in China’s manufacturing sector and a shift by government leaders to loosen the reins on borrowing suggest the worst may be over for an economy suffering its biggest slump in decades. While a bounce in the official purchasing managers’ index from a record low in February was inevitable as workers returned to factories after an unprecedented shutdown, the scale of the rebound — to 52 in March from 35.7 — exceeded most economists’ expectations. Employment also improves, but export orders contract “The positive surprise in China’s PMI headline reading offers hope that if virus containment becomes more effective in a country, then […]