A monthly survey of 1,500 businesses conducted by the National Bank of New Zealand. The purpose is to measures the mood in regard to future economic expectations.

Assesses changes in the cost of living by measuring changes in the prices of consumer items. The CPI is the headline inflation figure that indicates the strength of domestic inflationary pressures. Simply put, inflation reflects a decline in the purchasing power of the Euro in Germany , where each Euro buys fewer goods and services. CPI is the most popular way to measure changes in purchasing power. The report tracks changes in the price of a basket of goods and services that a typical German household might purchase. An increase in the index indicates that it takes more Euros to purchase this same set of basic consumer items.

The German CPI is significant as one of the primary gauges of inflation. As the largest Eurozone economy, inflation in Germany will contribute significantly to inflation in the Eurozone and the behavior of the European Central Bank. High or rising inflation acts as a signal to the ECB to raise interest rates, an action which will result in the strengthening of the Euro. The headline figure for CPI is the percentage change in monthly and annualized percentage term.

The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) reflects changes in the prices of consumer goods and services in a specified period of time. The HICP measures changes of the average price level for goods and services that households consume (the fixed consumer basket). HICP is pure price index. It does not reflect the changes in buying or consumption patterns, brands, and does not reflect the effect of outlet and service provider substitution.

Tracks inflation in producer and import prices in Switzerland . The headline figure is the percentage change in the index from the previous period.

Changes in this index will generally precede changes in the consumer price index, as higher import costs and producer prices tend to eventually be passed to consumers. As with any indicator of inflation, increases in producer and import prices tend to act as an appreciating weight for the Swiss franc because inflationary pressures are almost always met with interest rate increases from the Swiss central bank.

The figure represents changes in the combined producer and import price index, calculated from changes in producer prices and import prices, giving appropriate weight to the proportion of domestic and imported goods.

  The Current Account summarizes the flow of goods, services, income and transfer payments into and out of the country. The report acts as a line-item record of how the domestic economy interacts with rest of the world. The Current Account is one of the three components that make up a country's Balance of Payments (Financial Account, Capital Account and Current Account), the detailed accounting of all international interactions. Where the other side of the Balance of Payments, Capital and Financial Accounts deal mainly with financial assets and investments, the Current Account gives a detailed breakdown of how the country intermingles with rest of the global economy on a non-investment basis - tracking good and services.

A country's trade balance reflects the difference between exports and imports of goods and services. The trade balance is one of the biggest components of the Balance of Payment, giving valuable insight into pressures on country's currency.

Surpluses and Deficits
A positive Trade Balance (surplus) indicates that exports are greater than imports. When imports exceed exports, the country experiences a trade deficit. Because foreign goods are usually purchased using foreign currency, trade deficits usually reflect currency leaking out of the country. Such currency outflows may lead to a natural depreciation unless countered by comparable capital inflows (inflows in the form of investments, FDI - where foreigners investing in local equity, bond or real estates markets). At a bare minimum, deficits fundamentally weigh down the value of the currency.

Ramifications of Trade Balance on Markets
There are a number of factors that work to diminish the market impact of Trade Balance upon immediate release. The report is not very timely, coming some time after the reporting period. Developments in many of the figure's components are also typically anticipated well beforehand. Lastly, since the report reflects data for a specific reporting month or quarter, any significant changes in the Trade Balance should plausibly have already been felt during that period - and not during the release of data.

However, because of the overall significance of Trade Balance data in forecasting trends in the Forex Market, the release has historically been one of the most important reports out of the any country.

A German Firm, the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW), queries financial experts throughout Europe every month in order to make a medium-term forecast about Germany 's economic situation. They ask experts to evaluate the current situation and to predict the future direction of the economy. For all components of the survey, responses are restricted to positive, negative, or unchanged. This simple structure allows the survey to be quick and efficient in terms of turnaround time, as well as easy to understand and interpret.

Experts are asked for a qualitative assessment of the direction of inflation, interest rates, exchange rates and the stock market in the next six months. Thus the indicator provides a medium-term forecast for the German economy.

Technical Note on Headline Number : The results of the survey are always presented as the difference between those experts that optimistic and those are pessimistic. For instance if 25 percent of analysts expect improvement, 35 percent expect decline, and 40 percent expect no change, the headline figure is -10.

A German Firm, the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW), queries financial experts throughout Europe every month in order to make a medium-term forecast about Germany 's economic situation. They ask experts to evaluate the current situation and to predict the future direction of the economy. For all components of the survey, responses are restricted to positive, negative, or unchanged. This simple structure allows the survey to be quick and efficient in terms of turnaround time, as well as easy to understand and interpret.

Unlike the Economic Sentiment Indicator which looks into the future direction of the economy, the Current Situation Indicator focuses on the results of the survey that relate to the current health of the German economy. Expert opinions on whether the current situation is improved, worsened, or unchanged are summarized as the number of positive responses minus the number of negative responses. A higher headline figure indicates a stronger economy and better business climate.

Technical Note on Headline Number : The results of the survey are always presented as the difference between those experts that optimistic and those are pessimistic. For instance if 25 percent of analysts expect improvement, 35 percent expect decline, and 40 percent expect no change, the headline figure is -10.

The Center for European Economic Research (ZEW), queries financial experts throughout Europe every month in order to make a medium-term forecast about the economic situation. Eurozone ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment Assesses future economic expectations for the whole Eurozone. The results are summarized as the number of positive responses minus the number of negative responses. A higher headline figure indicates a positive expectation for Euro-zone economy.

Technical Note on Headline Number : The results of the survey are always presented as the difference between those experts that optimistic and those are pessimistic. For instance if 25 percent of analysts expect improvement, 35 percent expect decline, and 40 percent expect no change, the headline figure is -10.

The value of sales made by Canadian wholesalers. Wholesalers sell to industries and retailers in quantities far larger than most consumers are willing to purchase. Given that growth in Wholesale Trade usually precedes increases in retail trade and consumption, changes in Wholesale Sales can be used as an early indicator for the overall direction of the retail sector, consumption and the economy. The headline figure reports the monthly percentage change in Wholesale Sales, seasonally adjusted to account for variations in demand due to seasonal cycles.

These sectors are farm products, food, beverages, and tobacco products, personal and household goods, automotive products, building materials, machinery and electronic equipment etc.

CManufacturing Shipments - also known as "shipments of goods of own manufacture" - report the production of goods produced by Canadian establishments in the "Manufacturing Sector (NAICS 31-33)". It measures the Dollar value, not the quantity of manufactured goods produced.