Dow Jones Industrial Average ("the Dow")
A price-weighted average of 30 blue-chip stocks that are generally the leaders in their industry. It has been a widely followed indicator of the stock market since October 1, 1928.Often simply called "the Dow".

NASDAQ
A nationwide electronic system established by the NASD for up-to-the-minute price quotations and trading on over 5,000 OTC stocks.

The NASDAQ Composite Index is a broad-based capitalization-weighted index of all NASDAQ National Market & Small Cap stocks.

The NASDAQ 100 Index is a modified capitalization-weighted index of the 100 largest and most active non-financial domestic and international issues listed on the NASDAQ.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index
A capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. Though it does not include transaction or management costs, the S&P 500 is often used as a yardstick for equity fund performance.

S&P 1500 Supercomposite
The Standard & Poor's 1500 Supercomposite is a broad-based capitalization-weighted index of 1500 U.S. companies and is comprised of the S&P 400, S&P 500, and the S&P 600.

S&P 400 MidCap Index
The Standard & Poor's Midcap 400 is a capitalization-weighted index that measures the performance of the mid-range sector of the U.S. stock market.

S&P 600 Smallcap Index
The Standard & Poor's Smallcap 600 Index is a capitalization-weighted index that measures the performance of selected U.S. stocks with a small market capitalization.

Russell 1000 Index
The Russell 1000 Index consists of the largest 1000 companies in the Russell 3000 Index. This index represents the universe of large capitalization stocks from which most active money managers typically select.

Russell 1000 Value Index
The Russell 1000 Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 securities with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.

Russell 1000 Growth Index
The Russell 1000 Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 securities with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

Russell 2000 Index
The Russell 2000 Index is comprised of the smallest 2000 companies in the Russell 3000 Index, representing approximately 11% of the Russell 3000 total market capitalization.

Russell 3000 Index
The Russell 3000 Index is composed of 3000 large U.S. Companies, as determined by market capitalization. This portfolio of Securities represents approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market. The Russell 3000 Index is comprised of stocks within the Russell 1000 and the Russell 2000 Indices.

The Bloomberg European 500 Index
A capitalization-weighted index of the 500 most highly capitalized European companies.

DAX Index
The German Stock Index is a total return index of 30 selected German blue chip stocks traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

CAC 40 Index
The CAC-40 Index is a narrow-based capitalization-weighted index of 40 companies listed on the Paris Bourse.

FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index is a capitalization-weighted index of the 100 most highly capitalized companies traded on the London Stock Exchange.

IBEX 35 Index
The IBEX 35, formally the FIEX 35, is a capitalization-weighted index of the 35 most liquid Spanish stocks traded on the Continuous Markets (SIBE).

MILAN MIB30 Index
The MIB 30 is a capitalization-weighted index of the 30 top Italian companies traded on the Milan Stock Exchange.

NIKKEI 225 Index
The Nikkei-225 Stock Average is a price-weighted index of 225 top-rated Japanese companies listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Hang Seng Stock Index
The Hang Seng Index is a capitalization-weighted index of 33 companies that represent approximately 70 percent of the total market capitalization of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

Brazil Bovespa Stock IDX
The Bovespa Index is an equity index weighted by traded volume and is comprised of the most liquid stocks traded on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange.

Mexico Bolsa Index
The Mexican Bolsa Index, or the IPC (Indice de Precios y Cotizaciones), is a capitalization-weighted index of the leading stocks traded on the Mexican Stock Exchange.

Argentina Merval Index
The Argentina Merval Index is the market value of a stock portfolio, selected according to participation in the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, number of transactions and trading value.

MSCI AC World Free ex USA Index, source: Morgan Stanley Capital International
A commonly accepted, capitalization-weighted index of stocks traded in non-U.S. securities markets. You cannot invest directly in an index.

The MSCI World Index, source: Morgan Stanley Capital International
Represents 23 of the world's developed equity markets, and is a general indicator of developed market performance.

The MSCI EMF Index, source: Morgan Stanley Capital International
Represents 26 of the world's emerging "investable" equity markets, and is a general indicator of emerging market performance. "Investable" means free of foreign ownership limits or legal restrictions at the security and country level.

MSCI EAFE Index, source: Morgan Stanley Capital International
A commonly accepted, unmanaged measure of the performance of stocks traded in Europe, Australasia and the Far East.

The Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index, source: Lehman Brothers
A market value-weighted measure of treasure and agency issues, corporate bond issues and mortgage-backed securities. You cannot invest directly in an index.

The Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index, source: Merrill Lynch
A commonly accepted measure of the performance of high yield securities. You cannot invest directly in an index.

The Merrill Lynch Speculative Convertible Index, source: Merrill Lynch
A commonly accepted measure of the performance of speculative grade convertible bond securities. You cannot invest directly in an index.

The Bond Buyer 40 Bond Index
An index of 40 actively traded dollar bonds quoted in terms of yield, as compiled and published by the Bond Buyer's weekly.

The Bond Buyer 20 Bond Index
An index of 20 actively traded dollar bonds quoted in terms of yield, as compiled and published by the Bond Buyer's weekly.

MSCI World Index
MSCI World Index is a commonly accepted capitalization-weighted index of stocks traded in the U.S. and 22 other countries. You cannot invest directly in an index.

MSCI Emerging Markets Free Index
A commonly accepted, unmanaged measure of the performance of emerging market stocks.

ECONOMIC STATISTICS:

Gross Domestic Product, Source: BEA.
GDP Equals the total income of everyone in the economy and the total expenditure on the economy's output of goods and services.

Initial Jobless Claims, Source: LABOR BOARD.
Weekly initial jobless claims is the amount of people who have put in claims for unemployment.

Existing Single Family Home Sales, Source: National Association of Realtors.
Single-family home sales total, year- to-date at an annualized rate.

Consumer Price Index, Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The change in consumer prices determined monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, often cited as a general measure of inflation.

Business Inventories, Source: U.S. Bureau of Census
The change in business inventories determined monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Census.

Personal Income Source: Dept of Commerce/BEA is the income received by persons from all sources, that is, from participation in production, from both government and business transfer payments, and from government interest.

Industrial ProductionSource: Federal Reserve Board.
The Industrial Index is compiled by 2 sub groups, Products and Materials. Products include Final Products and Intermediate Products. Materials include Durable, Nondurable and Energy indices.

US Unemployment Rates Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate represents the number unemployed as a percent of the labor force.

Durable Goods New Orders Source: Census Bureau.
Durable Goods manufacturers shipments and orders - seasonally adjusted millions of dollars.

National Association of Purchasing Managers Index NAPM Source NAPM - Houston
The NAPM Indices compare the changes in various market areas on a month-to-month basis.

Chicago Purchasing Managers Index NAPM Source Chicago Purchasing Managers
The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index is a monthly index of regional (Midwestern) manufacturing activity. Compiled by the Purchasing Managers Association of Chicago, the index is released on the last day of every month for that month. An index reading higher than 50 means manufacturers reporting improved business outnumbered those reporting deteriorating conditions.

Gross Domestic Product
GDP equals the total income of everyone in the economy or the total expenditure on the economy's output of goods and services.

Initial Jobless Claims Source: Labor Board
Weekly initial jobless claims is the amount of people who have put in claims for unemployment.

Housing Starts Source: US Department of Commerce
Private Residential Real Estate Activity in thousands of units.

PPI Producer Price Index Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Producer Price Index (PPI) Measure average changes in prices received.

Consumer Attitudes Sentiment:
A commonly accepted statistical sampling of consumer sentiment towards the economy conducted twice monthly by the University of Michigan Released.

Consumer Confidence:
A commonly accepted measure of consumer sentiment published monthly by the Conference Board.

Goldman Sachs Commodity Index:
A commonly used general indication of commodity price levels.

CRB, Commodities Research Bureau Futures Price Index, Source: CRB
An equally weighted index of seventeen commodities, commonly used to gauge the effects of inflation.

Retail Sales
Source: Bureau of Census
Adjusted Estimated Monthly Retail and Food Services Sales by Kinds of Business.

Leading Economic Indicators, Source: Conference Board
An index measuring the percent change in 10 factors, such as average manufacturing weekly hours, and money supply.

Employment Cost Index, Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
An index measuring the change in cost of labor free from the influence of employment shifts among occupations and industries.

U.S. Non-farm productivity, Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
An index measuring the percent change in U.S. non-farm productivity of the current quarter over the previous quarter.

U.S. Trade Balance, Source: U.S. Bureau of Census:
An index measuring the balance of payments for US goods, or total trade balance.

Capacity Utilization
Source: Federal Reserve
Calculated for the manufacturing, mining, and electric and gas utilities industries. For a given industry, the utilization rate is equal to an output index divided by a capacity index. Output is measured by seasonally adjusted indexes of industrial production. The capacity indexes attempt to capture the concept of sustainable practical capacity, which is defined as the greatest level of output that a plant can maintain within the framework of a realistic work schedule, taking account of normal downtime, and assuming sufficient availability of inputs to operate the machinery and equipment in place.

Treasury bill, bond, note
Negotiable debt obligations issued by the U.S. government and backed by its full faith and credit. Treasury bills are short-term securities with maturities of one year or less. Treasury notes are intermediate-term securities with maturities of 1 to 10 years. Treasury bonds are long-term securities with maturities of 10 years longer.

Federal Reserve System
The central bank of the United States, which has regulated credit in the economy since its inception in 1913. Includes the Federal Reserve Bank, 14 district banks, and the member banks of the Federal Reserve.