Economic Cycle Research Institute

One of the best websites on the internet for staying up with economic conditions is commonly called ECRI or the Economic Cycle Research Institute. They are very good at predicting the direction of the economy through weekly leading indicators as well as long term indicators.

This information is important for knowing whether or not we should buy stocks for the long term. Currently, the readings are mixed. ECRI has forecast a recession in 2011, but the latest weekly leading indicators are pointing upward. So, the jury is still out concerning what will happen. If you are long on stocks, you may want to hold on a while longer. I would not be buying anything new at this point, though, and you need to be prepared to sell sometime in November to protect profits.

The stock market has risen during the past four weeks, and we are due to have a pullback sometime soon regardless of what happens in the economy. Also, the super committee in Congress must agree on something for our country's finances by November 23. If they land up deadlocked like Congress was in August of 2011, the stock market will fall again for certain.