Soaring costs throw cold water on Asian factory pickup

HONG KONG   Factory activity gauges for January show most Asian economies in expansionary territory -- save for Malaysia, South Korea and Hong Kong. But manufacturers are not out of the woods: Fast-rising input costs are casting a shadow on their profitability. 

The headline Nikkei ASEAN Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index logged a reading of 50 for January, rising to the boom-or-bust line for the first time in four months. A measure above 50.0 indicates expansion, while anything below signals contraction.