Resources
Economic Data
Congressional Budget Office
Monthly government budget and spending reviews, analysis on key areas of government spending and general economic outlook commentary. Often biased, but important to be aware of.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
You can find the key speeches and trancscripts from Bernanke et. al. as well as other critical financial data here.
The Conference Board
The source of several key data, indexes and indicators. Good place to take the pulse of the economy.
CPI Inflation Calculator
The CPI inflation calculator uses the average Consumer Price Index for a given calendar year. This data represents changes in prices of all goods and services purchased for consumption by urban households. This index value has been calculated every year since 1913. For the current year, the latest monthly index value is used.
Links We Like
U.S. National Debt Clock
While the markets continue to display an amazing resistance to being affected by the surging national debt, we think it is important to keep it in mind for sobriety. After all, it is impacting money supply, the soft dollar and ultimately, it will impact the markets.
Trading Tips
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Research
IDC
A great source of market intelligence with a focus technology.
Gartner Group
Another solid industry research firm.
eMarketer
A great source of industry research. Primarily tech-based.
US Census Bureau
Facts and data spanning our country and population.
Think Tanks
Heritage Institution
A conservative think tank. Very influential with the GOP.
Cato Institute
A libertarian think tank, that isn't really tied deeply to the hip of either the GOP or the Dems.
The Brookings Institution
A moderate to slightly liberal think thank that is worth following to better anticipate policy developments from the left.
Regulatory & Compliance
National Association of Securities Dealers
As the world's largest private-sector regulator of financial services, NASD touches virtually every aspect of the securities industry. By law, every securities firm doing business with the American public must register with NASD. Today, about 5,160 brokerage firms and more than 663,535 stockbrokers and registered representatives fall under our jurisdiction. We register securities firms, write rules to govern their behavior, examine them for compliance and, when necessary, bring enforcement actions against those who break those rules.
Securities and Exchange Commission
The mission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.