Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-266) and index.

"Seeing" The Economy: Creating Order Out of Chaos -- Seeing Around Economic Corners -- Making Sense of the Economy -- Getting Out of Harm's Way: Redefining Economic Downturns -- Economic forecasting -- The "ROCET" Method: Antidote for the Recession Obsession -- Smart Economic Tracking: Getting the Noise Out -- The Nature of Leading Indicators -- Consumer Spending: Cornerstone of the Economy and Stock Market -- Consumer Spending: Powering the Demand Chain in the Economy -- Consumer Spending and the Stock Market -- Forecasting Consumer Spending -- Predicting the Consumer: Do It on the Numbers; Lose the Psychology -- Real Earnings: Powerhouse of the Economy -- Employment and Unemployment: The Economy's Deceptive Laggard -- Interest rates, The Fed's Mystique, and The Core Role of Inflation -- Interest Rates and the Stock Market: A Concerned Look Forward -- Federal Deficits and Interest Rates: There Is a Link -- From Theory to Practice -- "Drilling Down:" Forecasting For Your Own Industry or Company -- Conclusion: Making Economics Happen -- Credit: Consumer Spending's "Swing Factor" -- Charting Economic Cause and Effect: Does it Work Outside the U.S.? -- Major Industry Data Series -- www.AheadoftheCurvetheBook.com.