I.  Economic application.
In the next few days the PPI and the CPI will be released.  Go to the Economic Calendar and get the "actual" values (in %) and the two forecasts for each price index ("market expects" and "briefing forecast").

-Are the actual values substantially different from the forecasts?  How does the financial market respond to these news (note the time the indices were released and then look at how Dow Jones and Nasdaq respond).
If the link does not work, click here, and choose the "Dow" link.  Then choose " Big: 1d" (below the graph on the screen).  Add Nasdaq to the graph and "compare".

-What information do the two indices provide?  Do you think the FED will take these information into account at their next meeting?  Why.
 

II.  Stock market application.
This application uses Yahoo's EPS announcement web-page.
Choose a company that has the following information given:
(i)  the EPS (Earnings Per Share) estimate
(ii) the specific time of the EPS announcement(you can also choose a company whose EPS were released "before market opens").
Record these information.
Click on the company's symbol.  Then choose "all headlines for:".  Scroll down until you see the headline with information on the actual EPS and record the actual EPS.

-How does the company's stock price respond to the EPS news (click on the chart to the right after the last step above and create a chart where you can see how the stock price is affected)?  Why?