Michael Griffis - Economic Indicators For Dummies

Economic Indicators For Dummies

by Michael Griffis, MBA

Coauthor of Trading For Dummies

Economic Indicators For Dummies

Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

www.wiley.com

Copyright 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier,
and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY : THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats. For more information about Wiley products, visit us at www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011936924

ISBN 978-1-118-03762-1 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-16387-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-16388-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-16389-4 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Author

Michael Griffis is an author, trader, speaker, and business owner. His MBA from Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College was the first step down his multi-faceted career path.

The MBA program emphasized economics, forecasting, and marketing. Its case-study style forced him to write more in a single semester than he had written in his entire Computer Sciences undergraduate program at the University of Florida. (As you may know, coders arent normally noted for their English composition skills.) Mikes experience in the MBA program was his first hint that he enjoyed writing and was at least competent if not inspired.

Mike first became an active trader for his own account in the mid-1980s. He later became a stock broker who helped businesses and individuals manage employee and personal investments. Today he is again trading for his own account.

Mike has business interests in two marketing agencies that help clients address traditional and Internet marketing challenges. Through these agencies, hes able to incorporate his economic knowledge and skills with economic indicators to help clients fine-tune their marketing forecasts. He first began writing about stocks online when the Internet was new and shiny. You can now find him at www.mikegriffis.com.

Dedication

This book would never have been without the love, support, and assistance of my wife Susan. Im also deeply indebted to Zeki and Harley, the feline duo whose endless fascination with all things laptop led to endless comic relief.

Authors Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to my editors at John Wiley & Sons, Inc., including acquisitions editor Michael Lewis, project editor Chad Sievers, copy editor Amanda Langferman, and technical editor Steve Russell, who made this book possible and made me sound like a better writer than I really am. Although I couldnt have done it without their help and oversight, any errors or oversights are my responsibility alone.

Publishers Acknowledgments

Were proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Vertical Websites

Senior Project Editor: Chad R. Sievers

Acquisitions Editor: Michael Lewis

Copy Editor: Amanda M. Langferman

Assistant Editor: David Lutton

Editorial Program Coordinator: Joe Niesen

Technical Editor: Steven Russell, PhD

Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker

Editorial Assistant: Rachelle Amick

Art Coordinator: Alicia B. South

Cover Photos: iStockphoto.com / Lebazele

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Senior Project Coordinator: Kristie Rees

Layout and Graphics: Claudia Bell, Samantha Cherolis

Proofreaders: John Greenough, Jessica Kramer, Bonnie Mikkelson

Indexer: Valerie Haynes Perry

Special Help: Heike Baird, Christine Pingleton, Jessica Smith

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher

Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director

Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel

Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services