Economic Indicators (United States)

The Money Supply lesson discusses how M2 is calculated, where to find it, how it’s influenced and how it influences financial markets and the economy. It specifically covers some of the most popular tools used by global central banks and governments to influence the supply of money. In addition, the course covers the money supply rise in the United States and the subsequent inflationary episode in 2021.

The Retail Sales lesson discusses how it’s calculated, where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. Measuring the dollars spent by U.S. consumers is useful as they are a large source of company revenues and economic activity globally.

The Consumer Confidence lesson discusses how it’s calculated, where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. Measuring the confidence of U.S. consumers is important because they are a large source of company revenues and economic activity globally.

The Yield Curve lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. The yield curve inversion is a powerful indicator that preceded the last six out of six recessions.

The Unemployment Rate lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. The unemployment rate is one of the oldest economic indicators available and useful in analyzing the relative ease or difficulty in finding a job.

The Unemployment Claims lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. Unemployment claims is a high-frequently indicator and useful because analyzing the number of people that lose their jobs can provide insights on the direction of economic prospects.

The Personal Income and Outlays lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. Watching the personal income and outlays report at the end of the month provides strong awareness concerning the path of the U.S. economy and the path of the FED.

The Payroll Employment lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. Tracking the number of people on U.S. payrolls is important because it’s one of the most straightforward economic indicators available and it provides a powerful link to the economy’s productivity.

The Housing Permits lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. The real estate sector is capital intensive, interest rate sensitive and requires the coordination of many moving parts of the economy. If one of the many contributors of the real estate sector appears weak, it’s likely a reflection of underlying weakness in the economy.

The Corporate Earnings lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. Earnings season can provide market participants with positive sentiment when there’s fantastic news, negative sentiment when there’s adverse news, or indifference when results are in-line with expectations. Corporate earnings are an important measure of corporate financial health and therefore, a measure of economic health as well.

The Industrial Production lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. Monitoring the monthly industrial production report is useful as it’s a strong gauge of consumer demand and confirms a growing or shrinking economy through an industrial lens.

The GDP lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. GDP is the foundation of financial markets globally. Fast economic growth will likely lead to fast financial asset growth. Financial asset values won’t sustainably grow if GDP is declining.

The Consumer Price Index lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. Inflation can lead to constrained budgets, deteriorating purchase power, and difficulty planning for the future. Tracking the CPI for insights on how fast or slow prices are rising or falling is a critical component of effective economic analysis.

The Manufacturing PMI® lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. The manufacturing sector is capital intensive and requires the coordination of many moving parts of the economy. If one of the many contributors of the manufacturing sector appears weak, it’s likely a reflection of underlying weakness in the economy.

The Housing Starts lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. As a capital-intensive industry with high interest rate sensitivity, real estate requires the coordination of many moving parts of the economy. An essential part of economic analysis involves tracking the capital-intensive and interest rate-sensitive real estate sector for signs of economic strength or weakness.

The Housing Completions lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. As a capital-intensive industry with high interest rate sensitivity, real estate requires the coordination of many moving parts of the economy. An essential part of economic analysis involves tracking the capital-intensive and interest rate-sensitive real estate sector for signs of economic strength or weakness.

The Home Price Index lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. As a capital-intensive industry with high interest rate sensitivity, real estate requires the coordination of many moving parts of the economy. An essential part of economic analysis involves tracking the capital-intensive and interest rate-sensitive real estate sector for signs of economic strength or weakness.

The Existing Home Sales lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. As a capital-intensive industry with high interest rate sensitivity, real estate requires the coordination of many moving parts of the economy. An essential part of economic analysis involves tracking the capital-intensive and interest rate-sensitive real estate sector for signs of economic strength or weakness.

The Construction Spending lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. As a capital- intensive industry with high interest rate sensitivity, real estate requires the coordination of many moving parts of the economy. An essential part of economic analysis involves tracking the capital-intensive and interest rate-sensitive real estate sector for signs of economic strength or weakness.

The Mortgage Applications lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. As a capital- intensive industry with high interest rate sensitivity, real estate requires the coordination of many moving parts of the economy. An essential part of economic analysis involves tracking the capital-intensive and interest rate-sensitive real estate sector for signs of economic strength or weakness.

The Labor Force Participation lesson discusses where to find it, how to forecast it, how it’s influenced, and how it influences financial markets and the economy. Broadly speaking, it can point to American’s sentiment regarding the labor market and the potential for changes in wage growth. When assessed along with other key data points, labor force participation can influence investor sentiment and is an important aspect of the economy’s productivity.