Need help? Research and gather information on the following economic indicators:

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Need help?

Research and gather information on the following economic indicators:

1. GDP

2. CPI

3. Nonfarm payroll employment

4. Industrial Production/Capacity Utilization

5. Advance Report on Durable Goods Shipments, New Orders, and Unfilled Orders

6. Housing Starts

7. Retail Sales

8. S&P 500 Stock Index

Based on this information, the team will write a report of 750-1,000 words, addressing the following items:

1. An analysis of current economic conditions

2. Expectations of economic, financial and international conditions for the near future

3. Identification of economic issues of special concern at the present time or in the near future

4. A recommendation as to whether short-term interest rates should be raised, lowered, or kept the same

The economic data required for this exercise can be found on the Federal Reserve Bank website athttp://www.federalreserveeducation.org/resources/detail.cfm?r_id=55bf3f33-e0d3-4fe3-8fe7-5624997fc1cb

Explanation / Answer

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living;[2][3] GDP per capita is not a measure of personal income (See Standard of living and GDP). Under economic theory, GDP per capita exactly equals the gross domestic income (GDI) per capita (See Gross domestic income).

GDP is related to national accounts, a subject in macroeconomics. GDP is not to be confused with gross national product (GNP) which allocates production based on ownership.

A consumer price index (CPI) measures changes in the price level of a market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The CPI in the United States is defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services."[1]

The CPI is a statistical estimate constructed using the prices of a sample of representative items whose prices are collected periodically. Sub-indexes and sub-sub-indexes are computed for different categories and sub-categories of goods and services, being combined to produce the overall index with weights reflecting their shares in the total of the consumer expenditures covered by the index. It is one of several price indices calculated by most national statistical agencies. The annual percentage change in a CPI is used as a measure of inflation. A CPI can be used to index (i.e., adjust for the effect of inflation) the real value of wages, salaries, pensions, for regulating prices and for deflating monetary magnitudes to show changes in real values. In most countries, the CPI is, along with the population census and the USA National Income and Product Accounts, one of the most closely watched national economic statistics.

Nonfarm payroll employment is a compiled name for goods-producing, construction and manufacturing companies in the US. It does not include farm workers, private household employees, non-profit organization employees, or government employees

It is an influential statistic and economic indicator released monthly by the United States Department of Labor as part of a comprehensive report on the state of the labor market.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases preliminary data on the third Friday after the conclusion of the reference week, i.e., the week which includes the 12th of the month, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time;[1] typically this date occurs on the first Friday of the month. Nonfarm payroll is included in the monthly Employment Situation or informally the jobs report and affects the US dollar, the Foreign exchange market, the bond market, and the stock market.

The figure released is the change in nonfarm payrolls (NFP), compared to the previous month, and is usually between +10,000 and +250,000 during non-recessional times. The NFP number is meant to represent the number of jobs added or lost in the economy over the last month, not including jobs relating to the farming industry.

Capacity utilization is a concept in economics and managerial accounting which refers to the extent to which an enterprise or a nation actually uses its installed productive capacity. Thus, it refers to the relationship between actual output that 'is' actually produced with the installed equipment, and the potential output which 'could' be produced with it, if capacity was fully used.

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