Leading Indicators Continue To Improve

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for March 18 – 22 at Seeking Alpha

 – by New Deal democrat

My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha.

I look at the high frequency weekly indicators because while they can be very noisy, they provide a good nowcast of the economy, and will telegraph the maintenance or change in the economy well before monthly or quarterly data is available. They are also an excellent way to “mark your beliefs to market.”

With interest rates having come down from their highs of five months ago, I anticipated that the shorter leading indicators might follow suit and improve. This week, there was some more evidence that they have.

A brief Summary as taken from NDd’s Weekly Indicators at Seeking Alpha:

• Long leading indicators show improvement, with bond yields and mortgage rates becoming neutral.
• Short leading indicators are gradually turning more positive, with stock prices soaring and real consumer spending holding up.
• Coincident indicators are mixed, with manufacturing and shipping being the primary negatives.

As usual, clicking over and reading should bring you up to the virtual moment as to the important indicators for the economy, and will reward me with a little pocket change.