📄️ What are economic indicators?
Economic indicators measure economic activity and predict recessions. Learn what they are, why governments track them, and how investors use them.
📄️ Leading vs lagging indicators
Learn the difference between leading, coincident, and lagging economic indicators. Understand which signals predict recessions and which confirm trends.
📄️ Reading the CPI release
Understand how to interpret the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation report. Learn what headline vs core inflation mean and how to spot surprises.
📄️ Reading the PPI release
Understand the Producer Price Index (PPI) inflation report. Learn why PPI is an early warning for consumer inflation and how to interpret wholesale prices.
📄️ Reading the PCE release
Understand the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index. Learn why the Fed prefers PCE over CPI and how to interpret the Fed's inflation target.
📄️ Non-farm payrolls
Learn how non-farm payrolls shape labor markets and drive Fed decisions. Monthly jobs data explained with real-world examples.
📄️ JOLTS report
JOLTS report reveals job openings and quits. Learn how labor market tightness signals inflation risk and guides Fed policy.
📄️ Unemployment rate release
Learn how to interpret unemployment rates, labor force participation, and U-6 measures. Understand what the headline rate hides.
📄️ ISM Manufacturing PMI
ISM Manufacturing PMI forecasts economic growth weeks before GDP arrives. Learn how manufacturing sentiment drives Fed decisions.
📄️ ISM Services PMI
ISM Services PMI measures 80% of the economy. Learn why service-sector sentiment matters more for GDP than manufacturing PMI.
📄️ Retail Sales Report
Learn how the retail sales report measures consumer spending, why it matters for the economy, and how to interpret monthly changes in retail sales data.
📄️ Industrial Production Index
Understand how the industrial production index measures factory output, capacity utilization, and the health of the U.S. manufacturing sector.
📄️ Housing Starts
Learn what housing starts measure, why they matter for jobs and growth, and how to interpret monthly housing construction data.
📄️ Existing Home Sales
Understand how existing home sales data measure resale market activity, consumer wealth, and real estate turnover in the U.S.
📄️ Case-Shiller Index
Learn how the Case-Shiller index measures home prices over time, why it's more reliable than median prices, and what home price trends tell economists.
📄️ Consumer confidence index
How the consumer confidence index predicts spending patterns. Understand the Conference Board's monthly gauge of household sentiment and forward economic health.
📄️ Michigan sentiment survey
Understand the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index: twice-monthly survey of household confidence, inflation expectations, and spending plans.
📄️ GDP advance release
Understand the GDP advance release: the first economic growth estimate released monthly. Learn what it measures, why it matters, and how it moves markets.
📄️ FOMC statement
Master reading the Federal Open Market Committee statement. Decode Fed policy language, rate decisions, and hidden signals that move markets and guide monetary policy.
📄️ Fed's Beige Book
Understand the Federal Reserve's Beige Book: a qualitative survey of regional economic conditions released eight times per year. Learn how to read its key signals.
📄️ Durable goods orders
Learn what durable goods orders reveal about business investment and economic health. Data-driven guide to interpreting this key economic indicator.
📄️ Trade balance report
Master the trade balance report and what it reveals about exports, imports, and economic competitiveness. Learn how to read the data and what economists really care about.
📄️ Weekly jobless claims
Learn how to read weekly jobless claims data and why it's the most watched economic indicator in real-time. Understand the signal behind the noise.
📄️ Data that moves markets
Learn which economic reports move financial markets and why. Understand the market sensitivity hierarchy and how to anticipate volatility.
📄️ Economic calendar strategy
Learn how to build and use an economic calendar to anticipate market moves and stay ahead of data releases. Strategic approach to tracking indicators.
📄️ Data revisions
Understand why economic data is revised repeatedly after initial release and how to interpret revisions. Revisions reveal the true economic picture.