Guide to the 50 Economic Indicators That Really Matter: From Big Macs to Zombie Banks, the Indicators Smart Investors Watch to Beat the Market

by Constable, Simon; Wright, Robert E.

• ISBN13: 9780062001382
• ISBN10: 0062001388
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-05-03
• Publisher: Harpercollins

Summary

The Wall Street Journal Guide to the 50 Economic Indicators that Really Matter is a must-have guide for investors. Dow Jones columnist Simon Constable and respected financial historian Robert E. Wright offer valuable tips and insight to help investors forecast and exploit sea changes in the global macroeconomic climate. Unlike other investment handbooks, Constable and Wright's guide explores the not widely known economic indicators that the smartest investors watch closely in order to beat the stock market-from #x1C;Big Macs#x1D; to #x1C;Zombie Banks.#x1D; Not only valuable and informative, The Wall Street Journal Guide to the 50 Economic Indicators that Really Matter is also wonderfully irreverent and endlessly entertaining, making it the most fun to read investors' guide on the market.

Author Biography

Robert E. Wright, PhD, is the Nef Family Chair of Political Economy at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He has authored or coauthored eleven books and has written for Barron's, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Los Angeles Times, and other prominent publications.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xi
Consumption (C)
Automobile Sales	p. 3
Chain Store Sales	p. 8
Consumer Sentiment	p. 13
Existing Home Sales	p. 18
Underemployment or Slack	p. 23
Investment (I)
Book-to-Bill Ratio	p. 31
Copper Price	p. 36
Durable Goods Orders	p. 41
Housing Permits and Starts	p. 46
Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization	p. 51
Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Survey	p. 56
Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Non-Manufacturing Survey	p. 61
JoC-ECRI Industrial Price Index	p. 66
London Metal Exchange Inventories	p. 71
Personal Savings Rate	p. 76
Unit Labor Costs	p. 81
Government (G)
Federal Government Budget Deficits and the National Debt	p. 89
Net Exports (NX)
Baltic Dry Index	p. 97
Big Mac Index	p. 102
Current Account Deficit	p. 108
Oil Inventories	p. 113
Tankan Survey	p. 118
TIC Data	p. 123
Multiple Components
Beige Book	p. 131
Crack Spread	p. 136
Credit Availability Oscillator	p. 141
Federal Funds Rate	p. 146
Fertility Rates	p. 150
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per Capita	p. 156
Libor	p. 161
M2 Money Supply	p. 166
New Home Sales	p. 171
Philadelphia Fed: The Aruoba-Diebold-Scotti Business Conditions Index	p. 176
Philadelphia Fed: Business Outlook Survey	p. 181
Real Interest Rates	p. 186
Short Interest	p. 191
Russell 2000	p. 196
Weekly Leading Index	p. 201
Yield Curve	p. 206
Inflation, Fear, and Uncertainty
GDP Deflator	p. 213
Gold Price	p. 218
Misery Index	p. 223
Producer Price Index	p. 227
Retail Investment Activity	p. 231
Credit Spreads: The Risk Structure of Interest Rates	p. 235
Ted Spread	p. 241
Texas ôZombie Bankö Ratio	p. 246
TIPS Spread	p. 250
CBOE Volatility Index (VIX)	p. 255
VIXEN Index	p. 260
Conclusion: Putting It All Together	p. 265
Appendix: Useful Economic Indicators Websites	p. 275
Selected Bibliography	p. 279
Acknowledgments	p. 281
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.