Data Guides

41 articles in this category

Complete Guide to Unemployment Rate Data: BLS, OECD & More

2008 took 6 years to recover. 2020 took 18 months. The data tells a fascinating story about two very different economic crises.

Nov 107 min read

Consumer Price Index (CPI) Explained: Data Sources & Methodology

A deep dive into CPI data—how it\

Nov 87 min read

Interest Rate Data: Federal Reserve, ECB, and Global Central Banks

Where to find official interest rate data from the Fed, ECB, BOJ, and other central banks. Plus historical rates and yield curves.

Nov 57 min read

Trade Balance Data: Import/Export Statistics from Official Sources

Find reliable trade data from US Census, WTO, UN Comtrade, and other sources. Bilateral trade, trade balance, and commodity breakdowns.

Nov 28 min read

Housing Market Data: Case-Shiller, FHFA, Census & More

Complete guide to housing data sources. Home prices, housing starts, mortgage rates, and real estate indicators from official sources.

Oct 306 min read

Retail Sales Data: Census Bureau MARTS & Consumer Spending

How to find and use retail sales data from the Census Bureau. Monthly advance estimates, revisions, and what they tell us about consumer spending.

Oct 287 min read

PMI Data Guide: ISM, S&P Global & Manufacturing Surveys

Understanding Purchasing Managers\

Oct 258 min read

Jobs Report Data: Nonfarm Payrolls, ADP & Employment Indicators

Everything you need to know about employment data. BLS jobs report, ADP, jobless claims, and how to analyze labor market indicators.

Oct 227 min read

Industrial Production Data: Fed, Census & Manufacturing Output

Guide to industrial production and manufacturing data from the Federal Reserve, Census Bureau, and international sources.

Oct 208 min read

Government Debt & Deficit Data: Treasury, CBO & Fiscal Statistics

Where to find US federal debt, budget deficit, and fiscal data. Treasury Daily Statement, CBO projections, and international comparisons.

Oct 187 min read

Labor Force Participation Rate: What It Tells Us About the Economy

Understanding labor force participation—why it matters, how it differs from unemployment, and where to find the data.

Oct 158 min read

Personal Income & Spending Data: Consumer Economics Guide

How to find and analyze personal income, consumer spending, and savings rate data from BEA and FRED.

Oct 128 min read

Consumer Confidence vs Sentiment: Which Index to Use?

Breaking down Conference Board Consumer Confidence, Michigan Sentiment, and other consumer surveys.

Oct 109 min read

Leading Economic Indicators: Predicting Recessions with Data

A complete guide to the Conference Board LEI, yield curve, and other recession predictors.

Oct 89 min read

Money Supply M1 vs M2: Understanding Monetary Aggregates

What M1 and M2 actually measure, why they changed in 2020, and how to use them in your analysis.

Oct 58 min read

Business Inventories & Supply Chain Data: Economic Signals

How to track inventory levels, inventory-to-sales ratios, and supply chain health across the economy.

Oct 28 min read

Producer Price Index (PPI): Upstream Inflation Data

Understanding PPI—how it differs from CPI, its components, and how to use it for inflation forecasting.

Sep 288 min read

Regional Economic Data: State, Metro & County Level Sources

Finding granular economic data at the state, metro area, and county level from BEA, BLS, and Census.

Sep 259 min read

Energy Data Complete Guide: EIA, Oil, Gas & Renewables

Navigating EIA data—crude oil inventories, natural gas storage, electricity generation, and renewable energy statistics.

Sep 2012 min read

Quantitative Tightening (QT) Data: How to Track the Fed Balance Sheet

A comprehensive guide to monitoring Federal Reserve balance sheet reduction, Treasury runoff, MBS holdings, and the impact on liquidity.

Sep 1814 min read

Yield Curve Analysis: Inversions, Steepening & Recession Signals

Master yield curve analysis with this comprehensive guide. Learn to interpret spreads, inversions, and what different curve shapes predict.

Sep 1513 min read

China Economic Data: Complete Guide to NBS, PBoC & Alternative Sources

Navigating Chinese economic data—official sources, reliability concerns, alternative indicators, and best practices for China macro analysis.

Sep 1214 min read

Commodity Price Data: Oil, Gold, Agriculture & Industrial Metals

Complete guide to commodity price data—spot vs futures, benchmark indexes, data providers, and how to build a commodities dashboard.

Sep 1013 min read

Currency & Forex Data: Exchange Rates, Central Bank Data & FX Analysis

Comprehensive guide to currency data—exchange rate sources, central bank data, PPP and real effective rates, and FX market analysis.

Sep 813 min read

Credit Spreads & Corporate Bond Data: High Yield, IG & Default Risk

Master credit market analysis with this guide to corporate bond spreads, high yield vs investment grade, default rates, and credit cycle indicators.

Sep 514 min read

Global Trade Data: Exports, Imports, Trade Balances & Tariff Analysis

Complete guide to international trade data—country flows, product-level data, trade balances, and how to track tariff impacts.

Sep 213 min read

Financial Conditions Indices: Chicago Fed, Goldman, Bloomberg & More

Understanding financial conditions indices—what they measure, how they\

Aug 3014 min read

European Economic Data: ECB, Eurostat & Country-Level Sources

Navigate European economic data—ECB monetary statistics, Eurostat aggregates, and country-specific sources for Germany, France, UK, and more.

Aug 2814 min read

Sentiment & Survey Data for Investors: AAII, ISM, Expectations & More

Comprehensive guide to sentiment and survey data—investor surveys, business confidence, consumer expectations, and contrarian signals.

Aug 2514 min read

Real Estate Data Deep Dive: Housing Starts, Permits, Sales & Prices

Complete guide to US housing market data—construction, sales, prices, inventory, and affordability metrics from Census, NAR, and more.

Aug 2214 min read

Bank Lending & Credit Data: Fed Senior Loan Officer Survey & More

Understanding bank credit data—the SLOOS survey, loan growth, credit standards, and how to track the credit cycle.

Aug 1814 min read

Equity Market Data: S&P 500 Valuations, Earnings & Market Breadth

Complete guide to equity market data—valuations, earnings, breadth indicators, sector analysis, and where to find reliable stock market statistics.

Aug 1514 min read

Japan Economic Data: BoJ, Tankan Survey & Japanese Macro Indicators

Navigate Japanese economic data—Bank of Japan policy, Tankan survey, GDP, inflation, and yen-related indicators for Japan macro analysis.

Aug 1214 min read

Emerging Markets Data: GDP, Inflation & Economic Indicators by Country

Navigate EM data challenges—finding reliable GDP, inflation, trade data for emerging markets. Country-specific sources and quality assessment.

Aug 1014 min read

Corporate Earnings & Fundamentals Data: Tracking Company Performance

Guide to corporate earnings data—finding quarterly results, estimate revisions, guidance, and fundamental metrics for equity analysis.

Aug 813 min read

Fiscal Policy Data: Government Budgets, Deficits & Debt Analysis

Understanding fiscal data—federal budget, deficit/surplus, debt levels, and how government spending impacts the economy.

Aug 514 min read

Alternative Data for Investing: Satellite, Web Scraping & Unconventional Sources

Guide to alternative data—satellite imagery, web traffic, credit card data, and other unconventional sources for investment insights.

Aug 214 min read

Energy Data Deep Dive: Electricity, Natural Gas & Power Markets

Comprehensive guide to power market data—electricity generation, natural gas storage, utility metrics, and energy consumption patterns.

Jul 2814 min read

Recession Prediction: Leading Indicators & Early Warning Signals

Guide to recession forecasting—leading indicators, yield curve, composite models, and how to assess recession probability.

Jul 2513 min read

Productivity & Labor Cost Data: Understanding Economic Efficiency

Deep dive into productivity data—labor productivity, unit labor costs, multifactor productivity, and why these metrics matter for inflation and growth.

Jul 2014 min read

Supply Chain & Logistics Data: Shipping, Freight & Inventory Indicators

Guide to supply chain data—shipping indices, port activity, freight rates, inventory levels, and logistics metrics for macro analysis.