1. The lock-up -- U.S. economic indicators -- International economic indicators -- 2. A beginner's guide : understanding the lingo -- Introduction -- Annual rates -- Business cycle -- Consensus surveys -- Moving average -- Nominal dollars versus real dollars (also known as current dollars versus constant dollars) -- Revisions and benchmarks -- Seasonal adjustments. 3. The most influential U.S. economic indicators -- Employment -- Employment situation -- Weekly claims for unemployment insurance -- Help-wanted advertising index -- Corporate layoff announcements -- Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) -- Consumer spending and confidence -- Personal income and spending -- Retail sales -- E-commerce retail sales -- Weekly chain store sales -- Consumer credit outstanding -- Cambridge Consumer Credit Index -- Consumer Confidence Index (Conference Board) -- Survey of consumer sentiment (University of Michigan) -- ABC News/Money Magazine Consumer Comfort Index -- UBS Index of Investor Optimism -- National output and inventories -- Gross Domestic Product (GDP) -- Durable goods orders -- Factory orders -- Business inventories -- Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization -- Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing survey -- Institute for Supply Management (ISM) non-manufacturing business survey -- Chicago Purchasing Managers index (Business Barometer) -- Index of Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) -- Housing and construction -- Housing starts and building permits -- Existing home sales -- New home sales -- Housing Market Index : National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) -- Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey and the National Delinquency Survey -- Construction spending -- Regional Federal Reserve Bank surveys -- Regional Federal Reserve Bank reports -- Federal Reserve Bank of New York : Empire State Manufacturing Survey -- Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia : Business Outlook Survey -- Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City : Manufacturing Survey of the 10th district -- Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond : manufacturing activity for the fifth district -- Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago : National Activity Index (CFNAI) -- The Federal Reserve Board's Beige Book -- Foreign trade -- International trade in goods and services -- Current account balance (summary of International transactions) -- Prices, productivity, and wages -- Consumer Price Index (CPI) -- Producer Price Index (PPI) -- Employment Cost Index -- Import and export prices -- Productivity and costs -- Employer costs for employee compensation -- Real earnings -- Yield curve. 4. International economic indicators : why are they so important? -- German industrial production -- German IFO business survey -- German Consumer Price Index (CPI) -- Japan's Tankan survey -- Japan industrial production -- France monthly business survey (INSEE) -- Eurozone, manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) -- Global, manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index -- OECD Composite Leading indicators (CLI) -- China industrial production -- Brazil industrial production -- 5. Best Web sites for U.S. economic indicators -- Schedule of releases -- Economic news -- The U.S. economy -- Consumer behavior -- Employment conditions -- Home sales and construction activity -- International trade -- Inflation pressures -- Federal Reserve surveys -- The federal budget -- Interest rates -- Money and credit -- U.S. dollar -- One-stop shopping for economic statistics -- Other useful sources on the Web -- 6. Best Web sites for international economic indicators -- Calendar of releases for foreign economic data -- Sources of global economic news -- Economic statistics from other countries -- Best megasites for international economic statistics.