Lesson 1Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA): accessing GDP data, real vs nominal GDP, quarterly annualization, revisionsLearn to get BEA GDP reports, tell real from nominal GDP, grasp quarterly growth rates that are yearly based, and follow changes over time to see how the economic story develops.
Finding BEA GDP portalsReal vs nominal GDP and price adjustersQuarterly growth yearly calculationsGDP parts and spending sharesFollowing GDP changes over timeLesson 2Inflation datasets: CPI and PCE—definitions, core vs headline, measurement differences, locating time seriesLook into CPI and PCE inflation ideas, main vs core measures, what they cover and how weighted, and ways to find, download, and explain official inflation data for economic and investment choices.
What CPI and PCE price indexes meanMain vs core: what's left out and whyHow measurements differ and data placesFinding CPI and PCE in FREDExplaining inflation patterns and ups and downsLesson 3International organizations and cross-checks: IMF and World Bank time series for context and consistencyKnow how IMF and World Bank data add to country sources, how to get similar data across countries, and check levels, growth, and meanings to make sure economic analysis matches up.
IMF Data Place and main economic dataWorld Bank WDI and topic searchesMatching country codes and measuresComparing data from different providersFinding mismatches and data gapsLesson 4Leading indicators databases: ISM PMI, Conference Board LEI, consumer confidence indices—where to find and how to useStudy main leading data like ISM PMI, Conference Board LEI, and consumer confidence, learn where to get them, how made, and use in predicting economic ups and downs.
ISM making and services PMIsConference Board LEI partsConsumer confidence indexesSpread indexes and key levelsUsing leading data in downturn modelsLesson 5Data quality, revisions, and how to cite sources with month/year (best practices)Build a steady way to check economic data quality, know first vs changed releases, track past changes, and cite sources with month and year in work reports.
First vs changed economic dataCommon change sources and slantsUsing change histories and versionsChecking notes and small printsCiting data with date and source infoLesson 6Treasury market and yield curve data: 2y, 10y, and other maturities; calculating spreads and reading auction resultsLearn to get Treasury yield data for different times, figure key gaps like 2s10s, read yield curve shapes, and check auction outcomes for signs of demand, flow, and policy hopes.
Places for Treasury yield curve dataActive vs old securitiesFiguring 2s10s and other gapsExplaining curve rise and flipReading Treasury auction tablesLesson 7Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): unemployment, payrolls, labor force participation, wage measures and seasonalityGet skills to access BLS work data, like no jobs, payrolls, joining, and wage info, and see how season changes and survey ways affect trend readings.
Home vs work surveysNo job rate and U-3 vs U-6Nonfarm payrolls and sector partsWork force joining and people groupsWage and earnings, season effectsLesson 8FRED and other aggregators: downloading series, frequency conversion, basic smoothing and trend extractionLearn to use FRED and like tools to search, download, change economic series, adjust times, use easy smooth and trend tools, and set data for charts, compares, and basic investment work.
Searching and saving key economic seriesDownloading data in CSV and ExcelChanging data time and grouping waysUsing moving averages and easy filtersUsing FRED charts and custom boardsLesson 9Practical checklist: step-by-step guide to assemble the specific 12–24 month dataset required by the case study (GDP, unemployment, inflation, policy rate, yield curve, one leading indicator)Follow a planned way to make a 12-24 month economic dataset for a case, with GDP, no jobs, inflation, policy rates, yield curve gaps, and one leading sign, set for charts and number fits.
Setting case time and rangePicking core economic and market partsMatching times and datesCleaning, naming, and saving datasetMaking summary charts and tablesLesson 10Federal Reserve releases and FOMC statements: how to find, read, and extract policy rate and guidanceLearn to find Federal Reserve data releases, FOMC notes, and minutes, get policy rate paths and balance info, and read forward guide words for economic and market work.
Key Fed releases and date plansFinding FOMC notes and minutesSpotting policy rate choices and pathsReading forward guide wordsUsing SEP and dot plot info
