In a world full of indices for anything you can think of some things are likely to map the economy well at any point in time, until they don't. Perhaps I don't have enough of a formal economics/finance education, but looking at the current BDI graph and comparing it with the other economic indicators I didn't see that much consensus.
Re:The best economic indicator you've never heard of
by bootload on Monday November 17, 2008 @07:41PM
(#367596)
"... The BDI is a good leading indicator for economic growth and production ..."
So is sales of scrap metal indicated by the LME (London Metal Exchange) http://www.metalprices.com/#tables A lot of scrap metal merchants are going out of business in China at the moment as demand drops in the cut throat market.
Re:The best economic indicator you've never heard of
by ivankirigin on Monday November 17, 2008 @03:08PM
(#367281)
If you're not actively trading, you should only care about long term changes. The best indicator I know is changes in productivity. It is a great predictor of permanent increases in wealth.
Recent data: http://www.investmenttools.com/futures/bdi_baltic_dry_index....
http://www.investmenttools.com/futures/bdi_baltic_dry_index....
In a world full of indices for anything you can think of some things are likely to map the economy well at any point in time, until they don't. Perhaps I don't have enough of a formal economics/finance education, but looking at the current BDI graph and comparing it with the other economic indicators I didn't see that much consensus.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/10/26/...
http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/the-baltic-dry-ind...
So is sales of scrap metal indicated by the LME (London Metal Exchange) http://www.metalprices.com/#tables A lot of scrap metal merchants are going out of business in China at the moment as demand drops in the cut throat market.