Economic Indicators
Durable Goods Orders and Capex Signals
How durable goods orders data reveals business investment trends, including the importance of core capital goods orders for GDP forecasting.
intermediate 2026-01-30
Economic Indicators
20 articles in this subtopic.
Economic Indicators
Glossary: US Economic Indicator Terms
A comprehensive reference of key terms used in US economic data releases and analysis.
beginner 2026-01-20
Economic Indicators
Retail Sales and Control Group Analysis
How to interpret the monthly retail sales report, why the control group matters for GDP, and what drives month-to-month volatility.
intermediate 2026-01-12
Economic Indicators
Regional Fed Surveys (Empire, Philly, etc.)
How regional Federal Reserve bank surveys provide early reads on manufacturing and business conditions, including interpretation of key survey metrics.
intermediate 2025-12-26
Economic Indicators
PMI and ISM Manufacturing Index
How the Purchasing Managers Index works, what the 50-level threshold means, and how to interpret manufacturing survey data for economic analysis.
intermediate 2025-12-20
Economic Indicators
Employment Reports: Nonfarm Payrolls and Household Survey
How the two main employment surveys work, why they sometimes diverge, and what investors should focus on in the monthly jobs report.
intermediate 2025-12-18
Economic Indicators
Building a Macro Dashboard Spreadsheet
How to create a practical economic indicator tracking system, including data sources, update frequency, and interpretation frameworks.
intermediate 2025-12-11
Economic Indicators
Existing vs. New Home Sales Indicators
Understanding the differences between existing and new home sales data, what each reveals about housing market health, and their limitations.
intermediate 2025-11-26
Economic Indicators
Inflation Metrics: CPI, Core CPI, and PCE
CPI grabs headlines, Core CPI strips food and energy, and Core PCE is what the Fed targets at 2%; the wrong measure miscalibrates rate calls.
intermediate 2025-11-26
Economic Indicators
Corporate Earnings as Macro Data
Aggregated S&P 500 results and BEA profits work as macro data: revision ratios, beat rates, and profits-to-GDP read growth and margin risk in real time.
intermediate 2025-11-19
Economic Indicators
Leading vs. Lagging vs. Coincident Indicators
Leading indicators warned 9-plus months before recent recessions while lagging data confirmed too late; match indicator category to your timeframe.
intermediate 2025-11-07
Economic Indicators
Housing Starts, Permits, and Builder Confidence
Understanding residential construction indicators, their leading indicator properties, and how to interpret housing supply data.
intermediate 2025-10-24
Economic Indicators
Consumer Confidence and Sentiment Surveys
How the Conference Board and University of Michigan surveys differ, what they predict about consumer spending, and their limitations as economic indicators.
intermediate 2025-10-16
Economic Indicators
Understanding GDP Releases and Revisions
Advance GDP estimates rest on about 45% of source data and revise 1.3 points on average, so second and third estimates carry far more signal.
intermediate 2025-10-03
Economic Indicators
Inventory-to-Sales Ratios
Understanding how inventory-to-sales ratios signal economic turning points, including sector-specific thresholds and interpretation guidelines.
intermediate 2025-09-28
Economic Indicators
ISM Services and Composite Measures
Understanding the ISM Services PMI, why it matters more than manufacturing in the US economy, and how to interpret composite economic indicators.
intermediate 2025-09-26
Economic Indicators
Financial Conditions Indexes
Financial conditions indexes fold credit spreads, equities, volatility, and the dollar into one gauge of credit ease that can loosen even as the Fed hikes.
intermediate 2025-09-22
Economic Indicators
Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
How the Federal Reserve measures factory output and capacity use, including sector breakdowns and their relationship to inflation and investment.
intermediate 2025-09-17
Economic Indicators
Jobless Claims as a Weekly Signal
How initial and continuing unemployment claims provide real-time labor market signals, including key thresholds and interpretation guidelines.
intermediate 2025-09-12
Economic Indicators
Unemployment Rate, Participation, and Wage Growth
Beyond the headline unemployment rate: understanding labor force participation, the U-6 measure, and what wage data signals about economic conditions.
intermediate 2025-09-02