Advisor Perspectives (dshort.com)

Today's release of the publicly available data from ECRI (Economic Cycle Research Institute) puts its Weekly Leading Index (WLI) at 135.2, up 1.0 from the previous week. The company's Weekly Leading Index annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at 3.5, an increase of 1.0 from the previous week, and well off its interim low of -4.7 in January of last year. Year-over-year the indicator is now at 0.75%, up from 0.53% the previous week, and in positive territory for the fourth consecutive week.

The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at 2.5, an increase of 1.0 from the previous week's revised level, and well off its interim low of -4.7 last February. The YoY is now at 0.53%, an increase of 0.21, and in positive territory for the third consecutive week.

The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at 1.6, an increase of 0.9 from the previous week, and well off its interim low of -4.7 last February. The YoY is now at 0.42%, an increase of 0.27, and in positive territory for the second consecutive week.

The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at -0.7, an increase of 1.3 from the previous week, and well off its interim low of -4.7 last February. The YoY is now at -0.18%, an increase of 0.54, but still in negative territory.

The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at -2.3, an increase of 1.3 from the previous week, and well off its interim low of -4.7 last February. The YoY is now at -0.69%, in negative territory for the majority of the last 52 weeks.

The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at -3.1, an increase of 0.4 from the previous week, and well off its interim low of -4.7 last February. The YoY is now at -0.91%, in negative territory for the majority of the last 52 weeks.

The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at -3.5, a decrease of 0.1 from the previous week, and well off its interim low of -4.7 last February . The YoY is now at -0.82%, in negative territory for the majority of the last 52 weeks.

The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at -3.4, a decrease of 0.3 from the previous week, and well off its interim low of -4.7 last February . The YoY is now at -0.86%, in negative territory for the majority of the last 52 weeks.

ECRI's latest weekly data point shows a slight decrease from the previous week's number and their latest feature commentary published earlier this week highlights the issue of wage inflation deception.

ECRI's latest weekly data point shows a fractional decrease from the previous week and their latest feature commentary published earlier this week highlights the declining median household income over the last couple of decades.

ECRI's latest article argues that the improvement in employment is illusory and a misleading indicator of the labor market. The jobs recovery since the Great Recession has been spearheaded by cheap labor.

ECRI currently features an article suggesting that concern over negative trend growth is no reason to panic. Recession is not imminent as we are not yet in a "window of vulnerability." The article also discusses Spain's recent cyclical upturn and warns that one shouldn't assume that a cyclical upturn also means positive long-term trend growth. The overall message is not to "fret about recession just yet".

ECRI's most recent article suggests that wage inflation does not support the case for a rate increase. "The recent rise in wage inflation, having become an obvious fact, is increasingly being used to support the case for rate hikes – including by Fed Chairman Janet Yellen, who now sees these “tentative signs of stronger wage growth” as a harbinger of inflation."

ECRI's most recent article suggests that wage inflation does not support the case for a rate increase. "The recent rise in wage inflation, having become an obvious fact, is increasingly being used to support the case for rate hikes – including by Fed Chairman Janet Yellen, who now sees these “tentative signs of stronger wage growth” as a harbinger of inflation."

ECRI's most recent article presents slides and notes from ECRI's Lakshman Achuthan talk at the Madrid Fund Forum conference. He discussed the relationship between lower trend growth and recessions. "ECRI believes that minimally we're returning to a period of more frequent recessions, as we saw in much of the twentieth century....Going back to at least the 1970s, growth has been stair-stepping down during each successive expansion."

ECRI's most recent article offers a compelling analysis of the relationship between GDP and two key factors: productivity and the labor force: "With productivity growth and potential labor force growth both averaging 1/2% a year, trend real GDP growth is converging to 1% a year."

Friday's release of the publicly available data from the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) puts its Weekly Leading Index (WLI) at 133.9, down slightly from 134.6 the previous week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at 1.5, up from the previous week's 1.2, and off its interim low of -4.7 in mid-January.

Here is a summary of the four market valuation indicators we update on a monthly basis.

Friday's release of the publicly available data from the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) puts its Weekly Leading Index (WLI) at 132.6, up slightly from 131.5 the previous week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at -2.5, up from the previous week's -3.3 and off its interim low of -4.9 in mid-January.

Friday's release of the publicly available data from the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) puts its Weekly Leading Index (WLI) at 131.6, up slightly from 131.2 the previous week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at -3.2, up from the previous week's -3.6 and off its interim low of -4.9 in mid-January.

Today's new release of the publicly available data from the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) puts its Weekly Leading Index (WLI) at 131.1, down slightly from 131.6 the previous week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at -3.7, up from the previous week's -4.0 and off its interim low of -5.0 in mid-January.

Today's new release of the publicly available data from the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) puts its Weekly Leading Index (WLI) at 130.6, unchanged from the previous week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at -4.6, down from the previous week's -4.5 but off the interim low of -5.0 in mid-January.

Today's new release of the publicly available data from the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) puts its Weekly Leading Index (WLI) at 130.6, up slightly from 130.4 the previous week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at -4.5, down from the previous week's -4.2 but off the interim low of -5.0 in mid-January.

When I initiated the dshort web page in late 2005, one of my routine topics was equity valuations, initially inspired by Nobel laureate Robert Shiller's book, Irrational Exuberance, the second edition of which was published earlier that year. I gradually expanded my focus from his cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio (CAPE) to include Ed Easterling's Crestmont P/E, Nobel laureate James Tobin's Q Ratio and my own monthly regression analysis of the S&P 500.

Today's new release of the publicly available data from the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) puts its Weekly Leading Index (WLI) at 130.0, down from 130.8 the previous week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at -4.3, down slightly from the previous week's -4.0, but up from the interim low of -5.0 in mid-January.

Today's new release of the publicly available data from the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) puts its Weekly Leading Index (WLI) at 130.8, down from 131.6 the previous week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at -4.0, up from the previous week's -4.3 and the interim -5.0 low in mid-January.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly average of daily closes for the past month, which is 2,054.27.

Today's new release of the publicly available data from the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) puts its Weekly Leading Index (WLI) at 130.8, unchanged to one decimal place from the previous week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at -3.9, down from -3.3 the previous week. This is its lowest level since February 2012.

Lakshman Achuthan made a recent appearance (December 24th) on Al Jazeera TV discussing the company's outlook for the US economy in 2015. Despite improvements in GDP and jobs data, Achuthan takes a cautious view. Among other things, he points out that latest year-over-year GDP growth rate of 2.7% (a more intuitive metric than the latest quarterly annualized rate of 5.0%), has happened before since the end of the last recession, only to slide back to lower levels. He identifies US manufacturing as a potentially weak area.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly average of daily closes for the past month, which is 1,937.27. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 2,018.05. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 134.9, down slightly from the previous week's 135.6. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is at 2.0, down slightly from the previous week's 2.1. On Wednesday, September 10th, Lakshman Achuthan appeared on Wall Street Journal Live, where he stated that Japan is on track for another recession. He included comments about what that means for Europe and the United States.

The Census Bureau has now released its annual report household income data for 2013. It is posted on the Census Bureau website. What I'm featuring in this update is an analysis of the quintile breakdown of data from 1967 through 2013.

Earlier today I updated my commentary on household income distribution to include the Census Bureau's release of the 2013 annual data. My focus was on arithmetic mean (average) household incomes by quintile (and the top 5%) over the 46-year history of this data series. The analysis offered some fascinating insights into U.S. household incomes.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 134.9, little changed from the previous week's 134.8. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) dropped to 1.8 from the previous week's 2.3. Last Friday, August 29th, ECRI treated the general public to a new commentary on its website focused on the Fed's seeming complacency about inflation becaused of stalled wage growth. ECRI sees a substantially higher inflation risk.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1,961.53. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 2003.37. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 134.3, unchanged from the previous week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) dropped to 2.8 from the previous week's 3.5. On Monday of this week, ECRI broke its silence to the general public with a new commentary on its website focused on housing affordability and home price growth

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 135.2, down from the previous week's 136.2. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) slipped to 4.5 to 4.2.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 135.4, down from the previous week's adjusted 135.3. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) is unchanged at 4.3 (the previous week adjusted down from 4.4).

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 134.9, down from the previous week's adjusted 135.3. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) fell to 4.8 from 5.3. Last Friday (May 30th), ECRI posted a brief overview of post-recession GDP forecasts from the Fed's Open Market Committee and the less optimistic series from the Congressional Budget Office.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 135.4, down from the previous week's 135.1. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) rose to 5.3 from 5.0. That's the highest since June of last year.

The Sentier Research monthly median household income data series is now available for April. The nominal median household income was down $84 month-over-month and up only $1,420 year-over-year. Adjusted for inflation, it was down $222% MoM and only $409 YoY. The real numbers equate to a -0.42% MoM decline and a 0.78% YoY increase.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 135.1, down from the previous week's 136.3. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) rose to 5.0 from 4.9. That's the highest since June of last year.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 134.9, up from last week?s 133.6 (revised from 133.5). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) rose to 3.3 from last week?s 3.0. Here are some notable developments since ECRI?s public recession call on September 30, 2011: 1) The S&P 500 is up 61.0% at yesterday?s close, although off its record close on April 2nd. 2) the unemployment rate has dropped to 6.7%, and 3) Q4 GDP was revised upward to 2.6%.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 134.9, up from last week's 133.6 (revised from 133.5). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) rose to 3.3 from last week's 3.0.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 133.6, unchanged last week (which was revised from 133.5). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) rose to 3.0 from last week?s 2.9. Here are some notable developments since ECRI?s public recession call on September 30, 2011: 1) The S&P 500 is up 61.9% at yesterday?s close, fractionally off its record close on April 2nd. 2) the unemployment rate has dropped to 6.7%, and 3) Q4 GDP was revised upward to 2.6%.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 133.5, up from 133.0 last week (a revision from 132.9). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) at one decimal place rose to 2.9 from last week's 2.3.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 132.9, down from 133.6 last week (a revision from 133.8). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) at one decimal place rose to 2.3 from last week's 2.1 (a revision from 2.3).

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 133.8, up fractionally from 133.5 last week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) at one decimal place rose to 2.3 from last week's 1.8.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 135.5, up from 131.8 last week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) at one decimal place rose to 1.8 from last week's 1.7.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 131.8, down from 123.3 last week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) at one decimal place slipped to 1.7 from last week's 2.5 .

With yesterday's release of the January Consumer Price Index, we can now calculate Real Retail Sales for the underlying sales data released on February 13th. Nominal Retail Sales had fallen 0.4% month-over-month, the second month of contraction, and are up only 0.3% year-over-year. When we adjust for inflation, January sales were down 0.6% MoM. The YoY change was a fractional 0.1% growth. Real sales are down 0.9% from their all-time high in November.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 133.2, unchanged from last week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) at one decimal place slipped to 2.5 from last week's 3.2 (a downward revision from 3.3).

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 133.2, unchanged from last week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) at one decimal place slipped to 3.3 from last weeks 4.2. Last weekend, ECRI posted a new publicly available commentary on the companys website: Failure to Launch. The brief text concludes with this remark: It is now quite clear that the economy is decelerating, not accelerating, with growth in ECRIs Weekly Coincident Index ... falling rapidly.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 133.2, down from last weeks downward revision from 133.7. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) at one decimal place slipped to 4.2 from last weeks 4.3.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poors "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1824.35. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1782.59. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poors latest earnings spreadsheet.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 133.8, unchanged at one decimal place from last weeks downward revision from 133.9. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) at one decimal place rose to 4.3, up from last weeks 4.2.

The December month-over-month Real Personal Income less Transfer Payments came in at a disappointing -0.21% (-0.2% rounded to one decimal). The year-over-year change is -2.47% (rounded to -2.5%). However, the YoY metric is radically skewed by the December 2012 end-of-year tax-planning strategy whereby income was captured in 2012 to avoided expected tax increases.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 133.9, down from last weeks 134.3. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) to one decimal place rose to 4.2, up from last weeks 3.5.

Last night my wife and I were looking for something to stream on Netflix, and I remembered that The Butler was available on Red Box (which has a vending machine about a 90-second walk from our residence).

With yesterdays release of Decembers CPI, we can now calculate Real Retail Sales for December. Month-over-month real sales came in at -0.07% (-0.1% rounded to one decimal). This indicator is now fractionally off its all-time high set the previous month. Although real December sales were a bit disappointing, this indicator rose 3.57% year-over-year, and it was positive for nine of the 12 months.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 134.5, up from last weeks 133.4 (an upward revision from 133.0). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) to one decimal place rose to 3.7, up from last weeks 2.5.

In my earlier update on demographic trends in employment, I included a chart illustrating the growth (or shrinkage) in six age cohorts since the turn of the century. In this commentary well zoom in on the age 50 and older Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR).

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 133.0, up from last weeks 133.0. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) to one decimal place came in at 2.5, up from last weeks 1.9.

The January Employment Report gives us a look at the December Nonfarm Employment along with extensive revisions back to January 2009. The big stunner today was the meager 74K new jobs in December against expectations of around 196K. This sucker punch from the Establishment Data was accompanied by the equally stunning news that the unemployment rate declined from 7.0-6.7%. The two numbers, of course, are from two completely different surveys - the jobs number from the Establishment Survey of business and government and the unemployment rate from the Household Survey of the general population.

Here is a summary of the four market valuation indicators I update during the first days of the month.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 132.9, up from last weeks 131.9. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) to one decimal place came in at 1.8, unchanged from last week.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poors "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1807.78. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1848.36.

The New York Stock Exchange publishes end-of-month data for margin debt on the NYXdata website, where we can also find historical data back to 1959. Lets examine the numbers and study the relationship between margin debt and the market, using the S&P 500 as the surrogate for the latter.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 131.9, up from last weeks 130.9. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) to one decimal place, slipped to 1.9, down from 2.1 last week.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 131.4, down from last weeks 132.7 (adjusted from 132.8). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) to one decimal place, slipped to 2.8, down from 2.9 last week.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 132.8, up from last weeks 132.3. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) to one decimal place, rose to 2.9, up from 2.6 last week.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poors "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1783.54. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1805.81. For the earnings, see the table created from Standard & Poors latest earnings spreadsheet.

The underlying sales data were stronger than expected, and the disinflationary October headline CPI boosted the number higher. in light of the general pessimism over the government shutdown and congressional face-off on debt ceiling, the October numbers are indeed surprising.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 132.2, up from last weeks 131.0 (revised from 131.1). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) to one decimal place, rose to 2.4, up from 2.2 last week.

Official recession calls are the responsibility of the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee, which is understandably vague about the specific indicators on which they base their decisions. This committee statement is about as close as they get to identifying their method.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 131.0, down from last weeks 131.4 (revised from 131.5). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) to one decimal place, rose to 1.8, up from 1.7 last week.

An online advertisement raises the following question often asked by your clients: Can you find me more income? In a nutshell, that is the dilemma facing high net worth investors.

ere is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poors "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1720.03.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 131.5, up from last weeks 131.1. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) to one decimal place, dropped to 1.7, down from 2.0 last week.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 131.1, up from last weeks 130.3 (revised from 130.4). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) to one decimal place, dropped to 2.0, down from 2.7 (a downward revision from 2.8).

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 130.4, down from last weeks 130.3 (revised from 130.4). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) to one decimal place, dropped to 2.8, down from 3.6 (a downward revision from 3.9).

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 132.1, down from last weeks 132.9. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) to one decimal place, remains unchanged at 4.8% (with last weeks number revised downward from 4.9).

Click to viewHere is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poors "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1687.17. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1681.55. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poors latest earnings spreadsheet.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 132.9, up from last weeks 132.3 (revised down from 132.4). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) rose to 4.9% from last weeks 4.5%.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 132.4, to one decimal place unchanged from last weeks 132.4 (revised down from 132.3). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) rose to 4.5% from last weeks 4.3%.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 132.3, an increase from last weeks 131.5. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) rose to 4.1% from last weeks 3.9%.... At this point the company is still featuring a commentary posted at the end of July, Becoming Japan, which highlights the decline in GDP growth for Japan and seven other major economies, including the US.

Last year ECRI switched focus to their version of the Big Four Economic Indicators that I routinely track. But when those failed last summer to "roll over" collectively (as ECRI claimed was happening), the company published a new set of indicators to support their recession call in a commentary entitled The U.S. Business Cycle in the Context of the Yo-Yo Years (PDF format). Subsequently the company took a new approach to its recession call in a publicly available commentary on the ECRI website: What Wealth Effect?.

Ive now updated this commentary to include todays release of the August Nonfarm Employment data. As the adjacent thumbnail illustrates, the trend in this indicator has been ever upward, but at a frustratingly slow pace. Todays announcement of only 169K new jobs was below forecasts. Moreover, the nonfarm jobs number for July was revised downward from 188K to 172K and the June number was revised downward from 162K to 104K for a combined decline of 74K from last months report.

Click to viewHere is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poors "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1670.09. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1632.97. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poors latest earnings spreadsheet.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 131.3, an increase from last weeks 131.0 (revised from 131.1). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) declined to 4.2% from last weeks 4.5%.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 131.1, a decline from last weeks 131.2. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) declined to 4.5 from last weeks 4.7%.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 131.2, a decline from last weeks 131.5 (a downward revision from 131.8). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) declined to 4.7 from last weeks 4.9%.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 131.8, essentially unchanged from last weeks 131.7 (a downward revision from 131.8). At the end of July the company posted a new commentary, Becoming Japan, which highlights the decline in GDP growth for Japan and seven other major economies, including the US. Also this week ECRIs Lakshman Achuthan defended his companys recession call on Bloomberg TV.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poors "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1668.68. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1685.73. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poors latest earnings spreadsheet.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 131.3, up slightly from last weeks 130.2. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) remains unchanged at 4.5%.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 131.2, up slightly from last weeks 130.1 (revised from 130.2). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) rose to 4.5% from 4.3% last week (revised from 4.6%).

ECRI posts its proprietary indicators on a one-week delayed basis to the general public, but last year the company switched its focus to a version of the Big Four Economic Indicators Ive been tracking for the past year. In recent months, however, those indicators have slipped below the fold, replaced by the mixed bag of whatever Indicator du Jour might look recessionary, as in the "Yo-Yo Years" commentary.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 130.4, down slightly from last weeks 130.6. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) fell to 5.3% from 5.8% last week.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poors "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1618.77. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1606.28. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poors latest earnings spreadsheet.

The media response to the post-FOMC market behavior has been dramatic. Today weve even been treated to some intra-Fed fisticuffs, with St. Louis Fed President James Bullard openly criticizing his colleagues for apparently giving presumably lame-duck Chairman Bernanke license to discuss QE taper timelines in his Wednesday press conference.

Ultimately my opinion remains unchanged: The ECRIs credibility depends on major downward revisions to the key economic indicators -- especially the July annual revisions to GDP -- that will be sufficient to validate their early recession call. Of course, the July revisions will be quite controversial this year, with some major accounting changes and revisions in annual GDP back to 1929. So if we dont get the downward revisions to support ECRI, they can always question the accounting changes in the revision process.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 131.3, up slightly from last weeks 131.0 (revised from 130.9). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) rose to 6.6% from 6.4% last week (revised from 6.3%).... Two weeks ago the company took a new approach to its recession call in its most recent publicly available commentary on the ECRI website: What Wealth Effect? More...

Ive now updated this commentary to include April Real Personal Income less Transfer Payments. As Ive discussed before, the adjacent thumbnail shows the major spike in incomes triggered by pulling early 2013 income forward in November and December (bonuses, dividends, etc.) to manage the tax risks of the Fiscal Cliff. At this point weve recovered from the post-strategy dip, so the trend going forward will give a more realistic sense of where this indicator is heading.

TheWeekly Leading Index(WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is at 130.6, up slightly from last weeks 130.1 (a downward revision from 130.2). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) dropped to 6.8% from 7.0% last week.

Essentially ECRI is sticking to its call that a recession began in mid-2012, although the company calls it a "mild" recession, which is quite a shift from their original stance 19 months ago: "...if you think this is a bad economy, you havent seen anything yet."

Essentially ECRI is sticking to its call that a recession began in mid-2012, although the company calls it a "mild" recession, which is quite a shift from their original stance 19 months ago: "...if you think this is a bad economy, you havent seen anything yet."

Ive now updated this commentary to include April Nonfarm Employment, which included the prior month revision. As the adjacent thumbnail illustrates, this indicator has trended upward in a relatively smooth trajectory over the past 13 months.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poors "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1,570.70. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,597.57. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poors latest earnings spreadsheet.

Essentially ECRI is sticking to its call that a recession began in mid-2012, although the company now calls it a "mild" recession, which is quite a shift from their original stance 18 months ago: "...if you think this is a bad economy, you havent seen anything yet."

Essentially ECRI is sticking to its call that a recession began in mid-2012, although the company now calls it a "mild" recession, which is quite a shift from their original stance 18 months ago: "...if you think this is a bad economy, you havent seen anything yet."

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is now at 130.1, up from 129.1 last week (revised from 129.2). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) remains unchanged at 6.2%.

Today ECRI has added a new headline on the website, Employment Growth Hits New Low, based on data from todays jobs report. Essentially ECRI is sticking to its call that a recession began in mid-2012, although the company now calls it a "mild" recession, which is quite a shift from their original stance 18 months ago: "...if you think this is a bad economy, you havent seen anything yet."

Click to viewHere is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poors "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1,550.83. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,569.19. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poors latest earnings spreadsheet.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) to one decimal place is unchanged from last week. It is now at 129.7, the same as last weeks downward revision from 129.8. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) has risen fractionally to 6.6%, up from last weeks 6.3%. Those of us who regularly follow ECRIs publicly available data and commentaries understand that there is no logical connection between ECRIs proprietary indicators and their "pronounced, pervasive and persistent" recession call of September 2011.

The only new ECRI-related news since last Fridays update is a CBS Moneywatch commentary, Can the stock market rise while the economy stalls? ECRI liked the commentary well enough to reprint it on the companys website. It basically reiterates Achuthans point in the "Yo-Yo Years" essay that its possible for the market to rise during a recession, citing three such instances (of the 15 recessions) since the Roaring Twenties.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose in todays update. It is now at 129.9 versus the previous weeks 129.5 (revised upward from 129.3). The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) has eased, now at 6.3, down from last weeks 6.4 (an upward revision from 6.2).

With the exception of Real Personal Income Less Transfer Payments (e.g., Social Security, Supplementary Security Income, workers compensation, etc.), the Big Four continue to show expansion. The seemingly bizarre income data is the result of the end-of-year strategy of early bonuses and moving forward of 2013 income to avoid higher taxes. Weve seen this situation before in the 1990s. The PI anomaly is the reason the average for the Big Four (the gray line above) has shows contraction for the past two months.

I spent much of yesterday reviewing the latest employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). They have a wealth of employment data, much of which stretches back to 1948. My focus was the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) with some specific attention to gender and age. The LFPR is a simple computation: You take the Civilian Labor Force and divide it by the Civilian Noninstitutional Population. The result is the participation rate expressed as a percent.

The big news this week is the ECRI's Chief Operating Officer and spokesman, Lakshman Achuthan, returned to the media circuit with interviews yesterday on Bloomberg, CNBC and Yahoo's Daily Ticker. In addition, ECRI has published a new commentary available to the general public.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1,512.31. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,514.68. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet.

ECRI adamantly denied that the sharp decline of their indicators in 2010 marked the beginning of a recession. But in 2011, when their proprietary indicators were at levels higher than 2010, they made their recession call with stunning confidence bordering on arrogance.

I've now updated this commentary to include the January Personal Income data, the red line in the chart below. As expected, the January brought the inevitable reversal of the dramatic advance in the November and December data, which was a result of moving income forward to manage the tax risk in anticipation of the Fiscal Cliff. The -4.7% decline in January essentially cancels the 1.4% rise in November and 3% rise in December.

ECRI adamantly denied that the sharp decline of their indicators in 2010 marked the beginning of a recession. But in 2011, when their proprietary indicators were at levels higher than 2010, they made their recession call with stunning confidence bordering on arrogance...

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) slipped fractionally in today's update. It is now at 129.6 versus the previous week's 130.2.The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) also eased, now at 8.3, down from last week's 8.9. WLIg has been in expansion territory since August 10th of last year, but is is fractionally off its interim high set last week.

First a flashback for those of us who have followed ECRI's media appearances: we know that the company adamantly denied that the sharp decline of their indicators in 2010 marked the beginning of a recession. But in 2011, when their proprietary indicators were at levels higher than 2010, they made their recession call with stunning confidence bordering on arrogance...

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1,480.40. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,498.11.

ECRI posts its proprietary indicators on one-week delayed basis to the general public, but ECRI's Lakshman Achuthan has switched focus to his company's version of the Big Four Economic Indicators I've been tracking for the past several months. See, for example, this November 29thBloomberg video that ECRI continues to feature on their website. Achuthan pinpoints July as the business cycle peak, thus putting us in at the beginning of the eighth month of a recession.

Note from dshort: This commentary has been revised to include the latest Nonfarm Employment data released today.... Nonfarm Employment rose 0.12% in January, following 0.15% and 0.18% gains in December and November, respectively. The Year-over-year increase is 1.52%. Nonfarm employment has been the tortoise of the Big Four, slow and steady. The average MoM change over the past 12 months has been 0.13%, and the range has been 0.07% to 0.20% -- no contractions.

For a few months, ECRI's indicators cooperated with their forecast, but that has not been the case in the second half of 2012 -- hence, I surmise, their switch to the traditional Big Four recession indicators. ECRI's December 7th article,The Tell-Tale Chart, makes clear their public focus on the Big Four.

For a few months, ECRI's indicators cooperated with their forecast, but that has not been the case in the second half of 2012 -- hence, I surmise, their switch to the traditional Big Four recession indicators. ECRI's December 7th article, The Tell-Tale Chart, makes clear their public focus on the Big Four.

The charts don't all show us the individual behavior of the Big Four leading up to the 2007 recession. To achieve that goal, I've plotted the same data using a "percent off high" technique. In other words, I show successive new highs as zero and the cumulative percent declines of months that aren't new highs. The advantage of this approach is that it helps us visualize declines more clearly and to compare the depth of declines for each indicator and across time (e.g., the short 2001 recession versus the Great Recession). Here is my own four-pack showing the indicators with this technique.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose in the latest public data. It is now at 128.3 versus the previous week's 126.6 (which is an upward revision from 126.4). Likewise the WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) rose, now at 5.1, up from last week's 5.0. WLIg has been in expansion territory since August 24th, although it is off its 6.0 interim high on October 12th.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1,422.29. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,426.19.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose in the latest public data. It is now at 128.3 versus the previous week's 127.2. Likewise the WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) rose, now at 5.4, up from last week's 4.6. WLIg has been in expansion territory since August 24th, although it is off its 6.0 interim high on October 12th.

TheWeekly Leading Index(WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) slipped fractionally in the latest public data. It is now at 127.2 versus the previous week's 127.4. However, the WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) rose, now at 4.6, up from last week's 3.9. WLIg has been in expansion territory since August 24th, although it is off its high at 6.0 on October 12th.

The weight of these four in the decision process is sufficient rationale for the St. Louis FRED repository to feature achart four-packof these indicators along with the statement that "the charts plot four main economic indicators tracked by the NBER dating committee." Here are the four as identified in the Federal Reserve Economic Data repository. See the data specifics in the linkedPDF filewith details on the calculation of two of the indicators.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose in the latest public data to its highest level since early August of 2011. It is now at 127.7, up from a downwardly revised 126.7 in the previous week. See the WLI chart. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) also rose, now at 4.4 from last week's 3.5. WLIg has been in expansion territory since August 24th, although it is off its high at 6.0 on October 12th.

This morning I've added two more of the Big Four for November: Industrial Production from the Federal Reserve, the purple line in the chart below and Real Retail Sales, the green line.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose slightly in the latest public data. It is now at 126.8, up from an upwardly revised 126.2 in the previous week. See the WLI chart in the Appendix below. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) also rose, now at 3.5 from last week's 3.4. WLIg has been in expansion territory since August 24th, althout it is off its high at 6.0 on October 12th.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1394.52. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,416.18. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet.

TheWeekly Leading Index(WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose slightly in the latest public data. It is now at 126.3, up from 125.4 in the previous week. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) declined to 3.4, down from last week's 3.6. WLIg has been in expansion territory since August 17th, although it is now at a six-week low, with the high at 6.0 on October 12th.

The traditional source of household income data is the Census Bureau, which publishes annual household income data each September for the previous year. Sentier Research, an organization that focuses on income and demographics, offers a more up-to-date glimpse of household incomes by accessing the Census Bureau data and publishing monthly updates.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose slightly in the latest public data (released Wednesday in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday). It is now at 125.7, up from 125.4 in the previous week. See the WLI chart in the Appendix below. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) declined to 3.8, down from last week's 4.3. WLIg has been in expansion territory for thirteen weeks, although it is now at a seven-week low, with the high at 6.0 on October 12th.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) declined again in the numbers released today. It is now at 125.4, down from its interim high of 127.6 set five weeks earlier. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) also declined, now at 4.4, down from last week's downard revision to 5.0. WLIg has been in expansion territory for twelve weeks, although it is now at a five-week low, with the revised high at 6.0 on October 12th.

Official recession calls are the responsibility of the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee, which is understandably vague about the specific indicators on which they base their decisions. This committee statement is about as close as they get to identifying their method.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) declined in the numbers released today. It is now at 126.2, down from its interim high of 127.6 set four weeks earlier. The WLI annualized growth indicator (WLIg) also declined, now at 5.1, down from last week's 5.9. WLIg has now spent eleven consecutive weeks in expansion territory, although it is now at a five-week low.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) slipped fractionally in the numbers released today. It is now at 126.6, down from last week's 126.7 (revised from 126.8). Likewise, the WLI growth indicator (WLIg) slipped slightly, now at 5.9, down from last week's 6.0. WLIg has now spent ten consecutive weeks in expansion territory, although it is off its interim high of 6.1. But for the past six weeks the WLI has been jogging in place in a narrow range (126.2 to 126.7).

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose fractionally in the numbers released today. It is now at 126.8, up from last week's 126.6 (revised from 126.7). However, the WLI growth indicator (WLIg) slipped slightly in expansion territory, not at 6.0, down from last week's 6.1. WLIg has now spent nine consecutive weeks of in expansion territory. But essentially the WLI has been running in place for the past five weeks.

The Weekly Leading Index of the Economic Cycle Research Institute declined in the numbers released today. It is now at 126.7, down from last week's 127.6 (revised from 127.7). However, the WLI growth indicator rose further in expansion territory to 6.1, up from last week's 5.7. WLIg has now posted sixteen consecutive weeks of improvement and is at its highest level since May 20, 2011. The divergence between the WLI and its growth derivative is probably attributable to apparent anomaly in the BLS's weekly unemployment data over the past two weeks.

The latest updates to the Big Four was today's release of the September Industrial Production, which rose 0.4 percent over the previous month following a 1.4 percent decline the month before. Yesterday the Census Bureau's Retail Sales number was released, and with today's release of the Consumer Price Index we can calculate Real Retail Sales. The latest 0.6% increase gives us a strong three-month upward trend after four months of flat or contracting data. Both indicators beat analysts' expectations.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) made a strong advance in the numbers released today. It is now at 127.7, up from last week's 126.2 (revised from 126.3). See the WLI chart below. The WLI growth indicator (WLIg) now marks its eighth week in expansion territory at 5.7, up from last week's 4.6. WLIg has now posted fifteenth consecutive weeks of improvement and is at its highest level since May 27, 2011.

What is the single best indicator of the American Dream? Many would point to household income growth. My study of the Census Bureau's data shows a 600.7% growth in median household incomes from 1967 through 2011. The ride has been bumpy, but it equates to a 4.5% annualized growth rate. Sounds impressive, but if you adjust for inflation using the Census Bureau's method, that nominal 600.7% total growth shrinks to 19.0%, a "real" annualized growth rate of 0.4%.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) slipped fractionally after eight consecutive weeks of growth. It is now at 126.3, down from last week's 126.6 (revised from 126.7). See the WLI chart below. However, the WLI growth indicator (WLIg) now marks its seventh week in expansion territory at 4.7, up from last week's 3.8. WLIg has now posted fourteen consecutive weeks of improvement and is at its highest level since June 3, 2011.

Last month I posted a pair of commentaries on median household incomes based on latest annual data released by the Census Bureau. The first looked at the distribution of household incomes by quintile and the top 5 percent. The second examined median household incomes by age bracket. More recently Sentier Research, an organization that focuses on income and demographics, published a fascinating report on median household incomes. The data in their report differs from the Census Bureau's data in three key respects.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1,443.42. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,440.67. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet.

Official recession calls are the responsibility of the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee, which is understandably vague about the specific indicators on which they base their decisions. This committee statement is about as close as they get to identifying their method. There is, however, a general belief that there are four big indicators that the committee weighs heavily in their cycle identification process.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose for the eighth consecutive week, now at 126.7, up from last week's 125.3 (revised from 124.7). See the WLI chart below. The WLI growth indicator (WLIg) now marks its sixth week in expansion territory at 3.8 (up from last week's 2.7). It has now posted thirteen consecutive weeks of improvement and is at its highest level since June 10, 2011.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose for the seventh consecutive week, now at 125.4, up from last week's 124.7 (revised from 124.9). See the WLI chart below. The WLI growth indicator (WLIg) now marks its fifth week in expansion territory at 2.7 (up from last week's 1.9). It has now posted twelve consecutive weeks of improvement and is at its highest level since July 29, 2011.

The Weekly Leading Index of the Economic Cycle Research Institute rose for the 6th consecutive week, now at 124.9 from last week's 124.1. The WLI growth indicator now marks its fourth week in expansion territory at 2.1. It has now posted eleven consecutive weeks of improvement. The big news is yesterday's Bloomberg TV interview, in which Lakshman Achuthan, ECRI's COO, reasserted his company's recession call made a year ago on September 21st and his belief that the recession has already begun.

Official recession calls are the responsibility of the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee, which is understandably vague about the specific indicators on which they base their decisions. This committee statement is about as close as they get to identifying their method. There is, however, a general belief that there are four big indicators that the committee weighs heavily in their cycle identification process. They are: Industrial Production, Real Income, Employment and Real Retail Sales.

Official recession calls are the responsibility of the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee, which is understandably vague about the specific indicators on which they base their decisions. This committee statement is about as close as they get to identifying their method.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose for the fifth consecutive week, now at 123.7 from last week's 123.5 (revised from 123.6). See the WLI chart below. The WLI growth indicator (WLIg) is in its second week in expansion territory at 1.0 (up from last week's 0.5). It has now posted ten consecutive weeks of improvement.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1,403.45. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,406.58. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose for the fourth consecutive week, now at 123.6 from last week's 123.3. See the WLI chart below. The WLI growth indicator (WLIg) has risen into expansion territory at 0.6 after nine consecutive weeks of improvement.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose slightly to 123.3 from last week's 123.0 (an upward revision from 122.8). See the WLI chart below. The WLI growth indicator (WLIg) is at -0.1, less negative than the -0.4 for last week, which is an upward revision from the previously reported -0.6.

The Weekly Leading Index of the Economic Cycle Research Institute rose slightly to 122.8 from last week's 122.5. See the WLI chart below. The WLI growth indicator is at -0.6, less negative than the -1.1 for last week, which is an upward revision from the previously reported -1.3. As of today, the ECRI website continues to feature Lakshman Achuthan's July 10th Bloomberg TV interview, in which he reaffirmed his company's recession call and stated that we're already in a recession.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose slightly to 122.5 from last week's 122.1 (a tiny revision from the previously reported 122.2). See the WLI chart below. At one decimal place, the WLI growth indicator (WLIg) is unchanged at -1.3 as reported in Friday's public release of the data through August 3. At two decimal places, WLIg is slightly less negative at -1.28 compared to last week's -1.35.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) slipped to 122.2 from last week's 122.7 (a tiny revision from the previously reported 122.8). See the WLI chart below. However, the WLI growth indicator (WLIg) improved, now at -1.3 as reported in Friday's public release of the data through July 27, an improvement over the previous week's -1.7, which was an upward revision from -2.3.

Official recession calls are the responsibility of the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee, which is understandably vague about the specific indicators on which they base their decisions. This committee statement is about as close as they get to identifying their method.

Official recession calls are the responsibility of the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee, which is understandably vague about the specific indicators on which they base their decisions. This committee statement is about as close as they get to identifying their method. There is, however, a general understanding that there are four big indicators that the committee weighs heavily in their cycle identification process.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1,359.78. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,379.32. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose to 122.8 from last week's 121.8 (a tiny revision from the previously reported 121.9). See the WLI chart below. The WLI growth indicator (WLIg) also improved, now at -1.6 as reported in Friday's public release of the data through July 20, an improvement over the previous week's -2.3.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) slipped to 121.9 from last week's 122.9, a downward revision from 123.2. See the WLI chart below. The WLI growth indicator (WLIg) rose fractionally, now at -2.3 as reported in Friday's public release of the data through July 13, an improvement over the previous week's -2.7 (a downward revision from -2.2).

The ongoing debate about an impending recession in the US grew more conspicuous last week when ECRI's Lakshman Achuthan not only reiterated his company's recession call, but also went so far as to declare that we're already in a recession. There is, however, a general assumption that there are four big indicators that the committee weighs heavily in their cycle identification process. They are Industrial Production, Real Income, Employment, Real Retail Sales.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) again rose fractionally, now at 123.2 from last week's 121.9. The WLI growth indicator (WLIg) rose fractionally, now at -2.2 as reported in Friday's public release of the data through July 6, an improvement over the previous week's -2.8 (a slight upward revision from -2.9).

Click to viewThe Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) again rose fractionally, now at 121.9 from last week's 121.7 (which was a slight upward revision from 121.5). See the WLI chart below. The WLI growth indicator (WLIg) rose fractionally, now at -2.9 as reported in Friday's public release of the data through June 29, an improvement over the previous week's -3.6.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for the past month, which is 1323.48. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,362.16. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet.

Click to viewThe Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose fractionally to 121.5 from last week's 121.2 (a slight downward revision from 121.3). See the chart below. However, the WLI growth indicator (WLIg) declined fractionally, now at -3.6 as reported in Friday's public release of the data through June 22, down from the previous week's -3.5.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) slipped to 121.3 from last week's 121.8 (a slight downward revision from 121.9). See the chart below. The WLI growth indicator (WLIg) also declined, now at -3.5 as reported in Friday's public release of the data through June 15, down from the previous week's -3.0.

Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal posted the results of its June Survey of economists. In the past my main interest in these forecasts has been the GDP estimates. But today my attention is fixed on the estimates for 10-year yields. The various Federal Reserve strategies in recent years (ZIRP, QE1, QE2 and Operation Twist) have focused on lowering interest rates, for which the 10-year note yield is an interesting "tell".

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose fractionally to 121.9 from last week's 121.3 (a downward revision from 122.3). See the chart below. However, the WLI growth indicator (WLIg) slipped, now at -3.0 as reported in Friday's public release of the data through June 8, down from the previous week's -2.2 (a sizable downward revision from -0.7).

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) dropped to 121.6 from last week's 122.3 (a downward revision from 122.4). See the chart below. The WLI growth indicator (WLIg) also slipped, now at -2.0 as reported in Friday's public release of the data through June 1, down from the previous week's -0.7 (a downward revision from -0.6). The ECRI numbers are extremely close to the RecessionAlert estimates, posted yesterday, which anticipated 121.9 and -1.9% for the WLI and WLIg metrics.

A key question on trader's minds is who will win the June 17th Greece election and whether it results in a Greek exit of the eurozone. Deutsche Bank gives it assessment in a report called Probability weighting EUR views on Greece. Under a variety of assumptions, the market pricing looks consistent with: a) significant odds in favor of Greece remaining part of the EUR zone and EUR/USD trading between 1.25 and 1.30; and, b) a worst case Greek exit global contagion scenario taking EUR/USD to 1.10, but not to levels as low as parity.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) dropped to 122.4 from last week's 123.0 (a slight downward revision of 123.1). The WLI growth indicator also slipped, now at -0.6 as reported in Friday's public release of the data through May 25, down from the previous week's 0.1. The latest data release to the general public continues to command focus in the wake of Lakshman Achuthan repeated reaffirmation of ECRI's recession call in live interviews around the major business networks on May 9th.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for March 2012, which is 1,341.27. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,310.33. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) dropped to 123.1 from a slight downward revision of 124.4 (see the fifth chart below). The WLI growth indicator also slipped, now at 0.1 as reported in Friday's public release of the data through May 18, down from the previous week's 0.4. The latest data release to the general public continues to command focus in the wake of Lakshman Achuthan repeated reaffirmation of ECRI's recession call in live interviews around the major business networks on May 9th.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is now at 0.1 as reported in todays public release of the data through May 4. This is essentially unchanged from last week. However, the underlying WLI again rose fractionally from an adjusted 124.6 to 125.4 (see the fourth chart below). The big news this week, however, is not the weekly data update but ECRI's latest reaffirmation of its recession call in a Bloomberg interview with ECRIs Lakshman Achuthan earlier this week. Ive embedded a link to the nine-minute video on the Bloomberg website.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is now at 0.0 as reported in today's public release of the data through April 27. This is the third consecutive week-over-week decline since January 6th. However, the underlying WLI again rose fractionally from an adjusted 124.0 to 124.7.

I recently read an interesting article over at Barry Ritholtz's blog triggered by one of Paul Krugman's recent commentaries, The Secret of Our Non-success. Krugman showed the chart from the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED). Since data-miners and hobby chartists like me relish the opportunity to present data to readers so they can make their own decisions, I zipped over to FRED to recreate Krugman's chart.

Here is a summary of the four market valuation indicators I updated at the beginning of the month. The Crestmont Research P/E Ratio, The cyclical P/E ratio using the trailing 10-year earnings as the divisor, The Q Ratio, which is the total price of the market divided by its replacement cost, The relationship of the S&P Composite to a regression trendline.To facilitate comparisons, I've adjusted the two P/E ratios and Q Ratio to their arithmetic means and the inflation-adjusted S&P Composite to its exponential regression.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is now at 0.6 as reported in today's public release of the data through April 20. This is the second consecutive week-over-week decline since January 6th. However, the underlying WLI rose fractionally from an adjusted 123.8 to 124.1.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is now at 1.2 as reported in today's public release of the data through April 13. This is the first week-over-week decline since January 6th, over three months ago. The underlying WLI contracted more dramatically from an adjusted 125.9 to 123.9 (see the fourth chart below). This is the largest decline, in percentage terms, since August 19th of last year.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is now at 1.4 as reported in today's public release of the data through April 6. This is the thirteenth consecutive week of improving data for the Growth Index and the highest reading since August 5th of last year. However, underlying WLI contracted slightly, decreasing from an adjusted 126.3 to 125.7

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is now at 1.0 as reported in today's public release of the data through March 30. This is the twelfth consecutive week of improving data for the Growth Index and the first postive reading since August 12th of last year. The underlying WLI also improved, increasing from an adjusted 125.8 to 126.5 (see the fourth chart below).

Here is a summary of the four market valuation indicators I updated at the beginning of the month. As I've frequently pointed out, these indicators aren't useful as short-term signals of market direction. Periods of over- and under-valuation can last for years. But they can play a role in framing longer-term expectations of investment returns.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for March 2012, which is 1,389.24. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,408.47. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) is now at 0.0, the pivot point between growth and contraction, as reported in today's public release of the data through March 23rd. This is the eleventh consecutive week of improving data for the Growth Index and the highest level since August 12th of last year. The underlying WLI also improved, increasing from an adjusted 125.4 to 125.9 (see the fourth chart below).

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) came in at -0.4 in today's public release of the data through March 16th. This is the tenth consecutive week of improvement (less negative) data for the Growth Index and the highest level (i.e., least negative) since August 12th of last year. The underlying WLI also improved, increasing from an adjusted 125.0 to 125.7 (see the fourth chart below).

The WLI growth indicator of the ECRI came in at -1.4 in today's public release of the data through Mar. 9th. This is the 9th consecutive week of improvement data for the Growth Index and the highest level since Aug. 5th of last year. The underlying WLI also improved, increasing from an adjusted 124.6 to 125.1. The big news this week is the ECRI commentary: Why Our Recession Call Stands. The most interesting revelation in the commentary involved a shift to the year-over-year WLI change from ECRI's favored, and rather arcane, method of calculating the WLI growth series from the underlying WLI.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) came in at -2.6 in today's public release of the data through March 9th. This is the eighth consecutive week of improvement (less negative) data for the Growth Index and the highest level (i.e., least negative) since August 19th of last year. The underlying WLI also improved, increasing from an adjusted 124.1 to 124.3 (see the third chart below). Here again is a recent media appearance by Lakshman Achuthan, the Co-founder of ECRI, defending ECRI's recession call on with CNNMoney.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for February 2012, which is 1,352.49. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,365.68. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet. ? TTM P/E ratio = 15.0 (15.2) ? P/E10 ratio = 21.9 (22.1)

Here is a summary of the four market valuation indicators I updated at the beginning of the month. ? The Crestmont Research P/E Ratio ? The cyclical P/E ratio using the trailing 10-year earnings as the divisor ? The Q Ratio, which is the total price of the market divided by its replacement cost ? The relationship of the S&P Composite to a regression trendline To facilitate comparisons, I've adjusted the two P/E ratios and Q Ratio to their arithmetic means and the inflation-adjusted S&P Composite to its exponential regression.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) came in at -3.0 in today's public release of the data through February 24th. This is the seventh consecutive week of improvement (less negative) data for the Growth Index and the highest level (i.e., least negative) since August 19th of last year. The underlying WLI also improved, incresing from an adjusted 123.1 to 124.2 (see the third chart below).

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) came in at -3.5 in today's public release of the data through February 10th. This is the sixth consecutive week of improvement (less negative) data for the Growth Index and the highest level (i.e., least negative) since August 26th of last year. However, the underlying WLI decreased fractionally from an adjusted 123.4 to 123.2 (see the third chart below). This is the second week of slippage in the underlying index.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) came in at -3.7 in today's public release of the data through February 10th. This is the fifth consecutive week of improvement (less negative) data for the Growth Index and the highest level (i.e., least negative) since August 26th of last year. The underlying WLI decreased fractionally from an adjusted 123.6 to 123.5

The accompanying charts offer clues for evaluating the risk of profit margin squeeze in the current economy. One is the ratio of crude to finished goods in the Producer Price Index. The other is an indicator constructed from two data series in the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey through yesterday's release. It is the spread between the Philly Fed's prices paid (input costs) and received (prices charged) data.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -4.3 in its latest reading, data through February 3rd. The latest public data point is a reduced contraction from last week's -5.3 (a slight downward revision from the previously reported -5.2). This is the highest level (i.e., least negative) since August 26th of last year. The underlying WLI increased fractionally from an adjusted 123.0 to 123.3.

Last October I posted a commentary, Libya, Ghaddafi and the Arab Spring, shortly after Ghaddafi's death at the hands of the Libyan National Liberation Army. It was the third major Arab regime to be overthrown in 2011. Since that time Ali Abdullah Saleh has resigned the presidency of Yemen, which remains in a state of turmoil. And the media spotlight is currently on the escalating conflict in Syria.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -5.2 in its latest reading, data through January 27. The latest public data point is a reduced contraction from last week's -6.6 (a slight downward revision from -6.5). This is the highest level (i.e., least negative) since late August. The underlying WLI increased fractionally from an adjusted 122.7 to 123.2 (see the third chart below).

Here is a summary of the four market valuation indicators I updated at the beginning of the month. ? The Crestmont Research P/E Ratio, The cyclical P/E ratio using the trailing 10-year earnings as the divisor, The Q Ratio, which is the total price of the market divided by its replacement cost, The relationship of the S&P Composite to a regression trendline. These indicators aren't useful as short-term signals of market direction. Periods of over- and under-valuation can last for years. But they can play a role in framing longer-term expectations of investment returns.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for January 2012, which is 1,300.58. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,312.41. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet. ? TTM P/E ratio = 14.3 (14.1) ? P/E10 ratio = 21.3 (21.5)

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -6.5 in its latest reading, data through January 20. The latest public data point is a reduced contraction from last week's -7.6 (a slight downward revision from -7.5). This is the highest level (i.e., least negative) since early September. However, the underlying WLI declined fractionally from an adjusted 123.3 to 122.8 (see the third chart below).

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -7.5 in its latest reading, data through January 13. The latest public data point is a reduced contraction from last week's -8.6, and the underlying WLI rose from an adjusted 121.1 to 123.4 (see the third chart below). The growth index had slipped lower over the past two weeks, but the latest data point is the highest (i.e., least negative) since early September.

"S&P 500 to Fall 30-50% in 2012." Dent's grim forecast is primarily based on the demographics of the peak spending years, an age cohort he refers to in the interview as 46-50. Economists and market analysts often think of retiring boomers as the primary drag on the economy with their the transition from the accumulation to the decumulation phase of their life-cycle. But if we understand of the crucial role of consumption for our economic health, a significant decline in the number of peak spenders is a demographic headwind that will challenge us for years to come.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -8.4 in its latest reading, data through January 6. The latest public data point is a slightly deeper contraction from last week's -8.2, although the underlying WLI rose a point from 120.2 to 121.2 (see the third chart below). The index had been hovering in a narrow range between -7.4 to -7.8 for the previous seven weeks but has slipped lower over the past two weeks.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -8.2 in its latest reading, data through December 30. The latest public data point is a deeper contraction from last week's -7.6. The index had been hovering in a narrow range between -7.4 to -7.8 for the previous seven weeks but has now slipped lower.

Periodically I update a series of overlays comparing the ECRI Weekly Leading Index (WLI) and the Conference Board's monthly updates of its index of Leading Economic Indicators (LEI). The most recent LEI update was published on December 22 (data through November), and today we have the latest WLI, based on data through December 30th. As we will see in the charts below, the two indicators continue to exhibit a major divergence.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for December 2011, which is 1243.32. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,257.60. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet. ? TTM P/E ratio = 13.8 (14.0) ? P/E10 ratio = 20.5 (20.7)

Here is a summary of the four market valuation indicators I updated at the beginning of the months. ? The Crestmont Research P/E Ratio. ? The cyclical P/E ratio using the trailing 10-year earnings as the divisor. ? The Q Ratio, which is the total price of the market divided by its replacement cost. ? The relationship of the S&P Composite to a regression trendline. To facilitate comparisons, I've adjusted the two P/E ratios and Q Ratio to their arithmetic means and the inflation-adjusted S&P Composite to its exponential regression.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -7.6 in its latest reading, data through December 23. The latest public data point is virtually unchanged from last week's -7.7. The index has been hovering in a narrow range between -7.4 to -7.8 for the past seven weeks. Those of us who follow this indicator are nervously awaiting a confirmation or reversal of the trend.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -7.7 in its latest reading, data through December 16. The latest public data point is fractionally more negative than last week's -7.5. The index has been hovering in a narrow range between -7.4 to -7.8 for the past six weeks.

This is part 1 of a 3 part series that explores optimal methods of dynamic rebalancing between stocks and bonds. This study examines these methods in the context of a US equity / Treasury basket. The next 2 posts will explore the impact of our proposed techniques on Japanese and Canadian equity / bond baskets. The investment community is in the midst of an identity crisis, though admittedly many in the industry don't know it yet. At the heart of the matter is the following misconception: Investors perceive that investment professionals add value via security selection and market timing.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -7.5 in its latest reading, data through December 9. The latest public data point is fractionally less negative than last week's -7.7, which is a downward revision from -7.6. CRI's recession call is, to say the least, quite controversial in financial circles. The perma-bears are generally supportive of the forecast, while the predominantly bullish mainstream financial view ranges from skeptical to dismissive.

On January 9th, 1790, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton issued his Report on Public Credit in response to a request by the House of Representatives. The report, though overlooked, belongs in the canon of American historical documents along with the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist Papers among others. In it Hamilton argued the newly formed Federal government should assume the war debts incurred by the thirteen colonies during the Revolutionary War.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -7.6 in its latest reading, data through December 2. The latest public data point is fractionally less negative than last week's -7.8. Yesterday Lakshman Achuthan, the Co-founder of ECRI, spoke with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Television's Surveillance Midday. It was sufficiently representative of the ECRI view that it's also available on the ECRI website here, with bold heading Recession Update. The eight-minute video is well worth watching in its entirely.

This interim update was prompted by yesterday's release of the Q3 Fed Flow of Funds data, which triggered a downward revision of the Q Ratio from high to moderate overvaluation.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -7.8 in its latest reading, data through November 25. The latest public data point is more negative than last week's downwardly revised -7.4 (previously -7.3). Today's update reverses the trend off its interim low of -10.1 on October 14.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for October 2011, which is 1226.41. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1,246.96. For the earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet.

The Weekly Leading Index growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute posted -7.3 in its latest reading, data through November 18. The latest public data point is less negative than last week's upwardly revised -7.8 and continues the trend off its interim low of -10.1 on October 14. Earlier this month I posted the November 7th CNBC interview with Lakshman Achuthan, the Co-founder of ECRI. I'm again including video because ECRI continues to feature it on their website here, which I see as ongoing evidence that they stand behind their recession forecast.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -7.9 in its latest reading, data through November 11. The latest public data point is less negative than last week's -8.5 and continues the trend off its interim low of -10.1 on October 14. Last week I posted the November 7th CNBC interview with Lakshman Achuthan, the Co-founder of ECRI. I'm again including video because ECRI continues to feature it on their website, which I see as evidence that they stand behind their recession forecast.

The Weekly Leading Index growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute posted -8.5 in its latest reading. The latest public data point is less negative than last week's -9.4, and trending above its interim low of -10.1 on October 14. ECRI has come under some harsh criticism this past week, starting with a CNBC interview of Lakshman Achuthan, the Co-founder of ECRI. About half-way through the interview, the discussion turns into an uninformative debate in which Achuthan speaks of a "contagion among the forward leading indicators" but dodged requests for specifics.

What would the value of S&P 500 index be if it were adjusted based on the dollar index? Many of us are familiar with the dollar index. We know that the value of our dollar versus a basket of currencies fluctuates as a result of many reasons. Let's look at our dollar index, which is conveniently available from Federal Reserve's economic data repository (FRED). What would the S&P 500 Index look like if we adjusted for the rise or fall of the dollar? We typically adjust for inflation, but do we know what impact our central bank, government spending, and monetary policies have upon the dollar?

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -9.4 in its latest reading, data through October 28, off its interim low of -10.1 set over the previous two weeks. (Note: last week's original level of -10.0 was revised downward to -10.1.) On September 30th, the ECRI publicly announced that the U.S. is tipping into a recession, a call the Institute had announced to its private clients on September 21st.Institute had announced to its private clients on September 21st.

Below is a summary of the four market valuation indicators I regularly follow. As I've frequently pointed out, these indicators aren't useful as short-term signals of market direction. Periods of over- and under-valuation can last for years. But they can play a role in framing longer-term expectations of investment returns. At present they continue to suggest a cautious long-term outlook and guarded expectations.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -10.0 in its latest reading, data through October 21, a fractionally change from the previous week's -10.1. On September 30th, the ECRI publicly announced that the U.S. is tipping into a recession, a call the Institute had announced to its private clients on September 21st.

One of the big economic announcements in the week ahead will be the Advance Estimate for Q3 GDP. The final number for Q2 GDP was 1.3%. Economists in general are optimistic that Q3 will show an improvement in this broad measure of the economy. The consensus for Q3 is 2.2%. But what sort of distribution of opinions do we find among the economists? Is the range of opinions wide or narrow? Let's review the data in the Wall Street Journal's October survey of economists. Fifty of the 56 economists solicited for survey responded.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) has now posted 11 consecutive declines since early August. The interim high of 8.0 was set in the week ending on April 15. The latest reading, data through October 14, is -10.1, down from the previous week's -9.7. For a close look at this movement of this index in recent months, here's a snapshot of the data since 2000.

Once the debt required to create $1 of GDP growth exceeded $1, the rate of economic growth in the U.S. has been on a steady decline. Unfortunately, while debt was accumulated and savings depleted in order to sustain an extraordinary lifestyle for the last three decades, the ability to create productive investment has been depleted. The fiscal and monetary policies implemented by the last five administrations have left the country in a far weaker state, as each President continued the failed policies from the one before. Now we must deal with the issues.

While the US and Europe have remained fixated on the simmering sovereign debt crisis in Euroland, the Arab world has been experiencing waves of demonstrations, protests and civil wars that have seen the fall of three major regimes thus far in 2011, with several others struggling to find equilibrium. The underlying forces behind the Arab Spring are complex and vary from country to country. But a key factor is demographics, as a glance at the population pyramids below suggests.

Savers beware. Bank bailouts and an"easy money" Federal Reserve policy cause financial injury to nearly everyones bottom line in at least three distinct ways. First, we taxpayers funded the "bailouts" through higher taxes. Second, your bank pays minimal interest to your savings accounts. Third, the increased dollar printing causes commodities to rise, which increases gas and food prices. Each injury requires a little more explanation than a simple statement. The first injury is easy-the "bailouts" took bad stuff from the balance sheets of banks and placed them in our hands.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) has posted 10 consecutive declines since early August. The interim high of 8.0 was set in the week ending on April 15. The latest reading, data through October 7, is -9.6, down from the previous week's -8.7. On September 30th, the ECRI publicly announced that the U.S. is tipping into a recession, a call the Institute had announced to its private clients on September 21st.

I looked at developments in U.S. demographics from 1980 to the present with a focus on the Boomer bulge. Then I examined current day demographics for several major countries around the globe. I've developed a set of population pyramids for the U.S. that start with 1981 and span7 decades at 10-year intervals using the U.S. Census Bureau data. Let's look at some comparative numbers for these seven snapshots. I've calculated the Elderly Dependency Ratios for each. As this ratio shifts higher, the productive population is increasingly burdened by the cost of entitlement programs.

Last week, September 30th, the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) publicly announced that the U.S. is tipping into a recession, a call the Institute had announced to its private clients on September 21st. One week later, the Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the ECRI has posted another week-over-week decline, now at -8.1 from the previous week's -7.2 (latest publicly available data as of September 30). The interim high of 8.1 was set in the week ending on April 15.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for September 2011, which is 1173.88. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1131.42. For the latest earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet. ? TTM P/E ratio = 13.3 (12.9) ? P/E10 ratio = 19.7 (19.0)

Today the ECRI publicly announced that the U.S. is tipping into a recession. Early last week, ECRI notified clients that the U.S. economy is indeed tipping into a new recession. And there's nothing that policy makers can do to head it off. ECRI's recession call isn't based on just one or two leading indexes, but on dozens of specialized leading indexes, including the U.S. Long Leading Index, which was the first to turn down before the Arab Spring and Japanese earthquake to be followed by downturns in the Weekly Leading Index and other shorter-leading indexes.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted another week-over-week decline, now at -6.7 from last week's -6.1, which is an upward revision from -7.1. In fact, with today's release, the publicly available ECRI data has been revised as far back as January 14th, with increasingly significant revisions from Q2 forward. The formula for the ECRI indicators is not published, but my speculation, based on the timing of the revisions, is that the Q2 Fed Flow of Funds release on September 13th occasioned the updates.

Yesterday the WSJ released the results of their September survey of 56 economists, mostly from major financial firms with a handful from academic institutions. The September survey is available in Excel format here. I spent some time studying the results and have made a little snapshot to help us understand what these mainstream professional economists are forecasting for quarterly GDP for the next six quarters through the end of 2012. The chart below includes the responses of each economist. The six forecast series are arranged horizontally from low to high.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) has now dropped further into negative territory after oscillating in a narrow range (1.5 to 2.1) from late June through the first week of August. Today's update of the publicly available data available (through September 9) now puts the decline at -7.1, down from last week's revised -6.6 (previously -6.2). The interim high of 8.0 was set in the week ending on April 15. For a close look at this movement of this index in recent months, here's a snapshot of the data since 2000.

The idea that the economy has grown at roughly 5% since 1980 is a lie. In reality the economic growth of the U.S. has been declining rapidly over the past 30 years supported only by a massive push into deficit spending. From 1950-1980 the economy grew at an annualized rate of 7.7%. This was accomplished with a total credit market debt to GDP ratio of less than 150%. The CRITICAL factor to note is that economic growth was trending higher during this span, going from roughly 5% to a peak of nearly 15%. The end game of three decades of excess is upon us.

The Retail Sales Report released this morning shows that retail sales in August were flat. The first chart shows the complete series from 1992, when the U.S. Census Bureau began tracking the data. I've highlighted recessions and the approximate range of two major economic episodes. The Tech Crash that began in the spring of 2000 had relatively little impact on consumption. The Financial Crisis of 2008 has had a major impact. After the cliff-dive of the Great Recession, the recovery in retail sales has taken us (in nominal terms) 2.9% above November 2007 pre-recession peak.

The Census Bureau has released the household income data for 2010. It is posted on their website. What I'm featuring in this update is an analysis of the quintile breakdown of data from 1967 through 2010. Most people think in nominal terms, so the first chart below illustrates the current dollar values across the 43-year period (in other words, the value of a dollar at the time receivednot adjusted for inflation). The charts below show income growth over the complete data series. In addition to the quintiles, the Census Bureau includes the mean income for the top five percent of households.

The Weekly Leading Index growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute has now dropped further into negative territory after oscillating in a narrow range (1.5 to 2.1) from late June through the first week of August. Today's update of the publicly available data available (through September 2) now puts the decline at -6.2, down from last week's revised -4.4. The interim high of 8.0 was set in the week ending on April 15. See the CNBC video clip featuring Lakshman Achuthan, Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer of ECRI, discussing the risk of a new recession.

In honor of Labor Day, which was signed into law as a national holiday in 1894, I spent some time this morning studying a topic I've occasionally mentioned: The shift in the United States from a manufacturing to a services economy. The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics has monthly data on employment by industry categories reaching back to 1939. The first chart below is an overlay of the compete series of employment numbers for the two major categories, manufacturing and services. When I say major, I'm referring to the domination of the labor market by these two industries.

Here is a new update of a popular market valuation method using the most recent Standard & Poor's "as reported" earnings and earnings estimates and the index monthly averages of daily closes for August 2011, which is 1185.31. The ratios in parentheses use the monthly close of 1218.89. For the latest earnings, see the table below created from Standard & Poor's latest earnings spreadsheet.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) dropped deeper into negative territory after oscillating in a narrow range (1.5 to 2.1) from late June through the first week of August. Today's update, data through August 26, now puts the decline at -4.3, down from last week's revised -2.1. The interim high of 8.0 was set in the week ending on April 15. See the CNBC video clip featuring Lakshman Achuthan, Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer of ECRI, which aired on Wednesday, August 31st, just before the ADP jobs report.

Here are some charts of troughs to peaks that show why so many people believe the U.S. is still mired in a recession. For those of us who do accept the NBER recession call, the charts support the characterization of our economic condition as The Second Great Contraction. Since the beginning of quarterly GDP data, which has been tracked since 1947, the U.S. has never had an official recession without having achieved new highs in Real GDP and nonfarm employment. Let's hope that continues. But ultimately the debate over recession boundaries is a minor quibble in the ongoing economic reality.

Many may scoff at the Fed's report that stock prices will not recover to their 2010 highs until 2027. The migration of "baby boomers" into retirement, combined with sustained high unemployment, low savings rates and a weak economy, does not bode well for strong financial markets into the future. While there are hopes that the economy will recover in spite of the abundance of factors building against it, the reality is that we may be dealing with the "Japanese Experience".

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) dropped further into negative territory after oscillating in a narrow range (1.5 to 2.1) from late June through the first week of August. Today's update, data through August 19, now puts the decline at -2.9, down from last week's -0.1. The interim high of 8.0 was set in the week ending on April 15. The published ECRI WLI growth metric has had a respectable record for forecasting recessions and rebounds therefrom. The next chart shows the correlation between the WLI, GDP and recessions.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) has been oscillating in a narrow range (1.5 to 2.0 in the latest revision) for the past several weeks. However today's update, data through August 12, has touched negative territory with a -0.1 reading. The interim high of 8.0 was set in the week ending on April 15. The published ECRI WLI growth metric has had a respectable record for forecasting recessions and rebounds therefrom. The next chart shows the correlation between the WLI, GDP and recessions.

The August 2011 Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) released today puts the July year-over-year inflation rate at 3.63%, which is fractionally below the 3.96% average since the end of World War II. For a comparison of headline inflation with core inflation, which is based on the CPI excluding food and energy, see this new feature. For better understanding of how CPI is measured and how it impacts your household, see my Inside Look at CPI components. For an even closer look at how the components are behaving, see this X-Ray View of the data for the past five months.

It's time for the truth about calculating how much money you need for retirement. Finding the answer isn't as simple as it appears on the surface. Sure, retirement calculators are easy to use. Just input a few assumptions about the future and your computer instantly provides the magic number. It's only when you dig deeper that you find the problems. Input the wrong values for the impossible-to-make assumptions and your number will be dangerously wrong, jeopardizing your retirement security.

I'm posting my usual update shortly after reading an interesting, if rather disturbing, WSJ article, This Time, Maybe the U.S. Is Japan. It's time again for the weekend update of our "Real" Mega-Bears, an inflation-adjusted overlay of three secular bear markets. It aligns the current S&P 500 from the top of the Tech Bubble in March 2000, the Dow in of 1929, and the Nikkei 225 from its 1989 bubble high. The chart below is consistent with my preference for real (inflation-adjusted) analysis of long-term market behavior.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) has been oscillating in a narrow range (from 1.6 to 2.1) for the past seven weeks, with the latest reading at 1.7. The interim high of 8.0 was set in the week ending on April 15. The published ECRI WLI growth metric has had a respectable record for forecasting recessions and rebounds therefrom. The next chart shows the correlation between the WLI, GDP and recessions.

How do you get from Nominal GDP to Real GDP? You subtract inflation. The Bureau of Economic Analysis uses its own GDP Deflator for this purpose, which is somewhat different from the BEA's deflator for Personal Consumption Expenditures and quite a bit different from the better-known Bureau of Labor Statistic's inflation gauge, the Consumer Price Index. Now that we have the preliminary read on Q2 GDP and some rather stunning revisions for the past three years, I've updated my trio of charts showing quarterly Real GDP since 1960 with the official and two variant adjustment techniques.

By the end of this year, the earnings cycle is likely to be well above its typical thresholds of duration and magnitude. Although earnings could again rise in 2012, the magnitude of excess margins portends a fairly significant decline when the earnings cycle reverts. In addition, the profile of cyclical cycles in the stock market may have also run its course. The market may sustain or extend its gains for 2011 by year-end, but another up-year in 2012 would make history. Not only is duration stretched, but also the magnitude of cumulative gains has now matched the historical average.

The recent article P/E: Future On The Horizon by Advisor Perspectives contributor Ed Easterling provided an overview of Ed's method for determining where the market is headed. His analysis is quite compelling. Accordingly I have added the Crestmont data to my monthly market valuation updates. The first chart is the Crestmont equivalent of the Cyclical P/E10 ratio chart I've been sharing on a monthly basis for the past few years.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose to 2.0 from a downward revision of 1.6 for last week (originally 1.7). The economy seems to be stabilizing after eleven consecutive weeks of decline. The interim high, now adjusted upward to 8.0, was set in the week ending on April 15. The published ECRI WLI growth metric has had a respectable record for forecasting recessions and rebounds therefrom. The next chart shows the correlation between the WLI, GDP and recessions.

Every month the Wall Street Journal surveys a few dozen economists to get their opinions on a variety of hot topics. The survey also asks for forecasts on a regular set of economic indicators: 10-Year Yields, Fed Funds Rate, GDP, CPI, Unemployment Rate, Housing Starts, Crude oil, Payrolls, Home Prices. I've made a little snapshot to help us understand what these mainstream professional eoconomists are forecasting for quarterly GDP for the rest of the year. The markers are arranged from low to high for each quarter so we get a clear idea of the distribution of responses.

Is a second recession in so short of a time in the offing? It certainly seems that way. The hope for a continued recovery has grown dim lately as many of the economic indexes are moving towards contractionary territory. In the words of David Rosenberg, chief economist at Gluskin Sheff, "one small shock" could send us into a second recession. With the recent release of the Chicago Fed National Activity Index, our proprietary economic index is just one small step away from crossing the 35 mark which has always been a pre-cursor to recession.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) remained steady at 1.7 the same level as the two previous weeks. The economy seems to be stabilizing after eleven consecutive weeks of decline. The interim high, now adjusted upward to 8.0, was set in the week ending on April 15. The published ECRI WLI growth metric has had a respectable record for forecasting recessions and rebounds therefrom. The next chart shows the correlation between the WLI, GDP and recessions.

In my weekly updates of major worlds markets, one of the charts includes an overlay of the amazing bubble in the Shanghai Composite Index. In this commentary we'll build an overlay of four major bubbles across market history to see the variety of shapes a bubble can take. But first let's take a long view of the index.

The "wealthy", defined by the current administration as those making more than $250,000 a year, also comprise the largest percentage of small business owners - the group that creates the majority of jobs. When you look at the data, they are already paying more than their "fair share". The top 10% of wage earners pay more than 70% of all of the taxes while the top 25% covers almost 90%. Here is my "radically moderate" view point: Tapping the people who already pay 90% of the tax bill will not create more revenue. On the contrary, it will cause further economic weakness.

Every month the Wall Street Journal surveys a few dozen economists to get their opinions on a variety of hot topics. The survey also asks for forecasts on a regular set of economic indicators: 10-Year Yields, Fed Funds Rate, GDP, CPI, Unemployment Rate, Housing Starts, Crude oil, Payrolls, Home Prices. Now that the July forecast is available, I spent a few minutes this morning reviewing the 2011 and 2012 year-end forecasts for 10-year yields. The chart below illustrates the responses of the 55 economists solicited in the July survey.

Here is a table showing the annualized change over the past five months for Headline and Core CPI. I've also included each of the eight components of Headline CPI and a separate entry for Energy, which is a collection of sub-indexes in Housing and Transportation. We can make some inferences about how inflation is impacting our personal expenses depending on our relative exposure to the individual components.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) Growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) remained steady at 1.7 ? the same as last week's 1.7, which was a downward revision from 1.9. Is the economy beginning to stabilize after eleven consecutive weeks of decline? The interim high of 7.8 was set in the week ending on April 15. The published ECRI WLI growth metric has had a respectable record for forecasting recessions and rebounds therefrom. The next chart shows the correlation between the WLI, GDP and recessions.

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) Growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) declined to 1.8 from last week's 1.9, a downward revision from 2.0. This is the eleventh consecutive week of decline from the 11-month interim high of 7.8 for the week ending on April 15. The published ECRI WLI growth metric has had a respectable record for forecasting recessions and rebounds therefrom. The next chart shows the correlation between the WLI, GDP and recessions.