LEADING ECONOMIC INDICATORS—HOW GOES THE ECONOMY? The Conference Board, at www.conferenceboard.org, tracks the leading economic indicators. Check the summary of the index of leading indicators and its individual components for the latest month. Is the index up or down? Which specific components are up, and which are down? What has been the trend of the composite index over the past 3 months?

TABLE 13.1—WHAT ARE THE LATEST NUMBERS? Go to the Congressional Budget Office Web site, www.cbo.gov, and select Historical Budget Data. On that page, click on the "pdf" hyperlink to open up an Adobe Acrobat file containing the necessary data. Find the historical data for the actual budget deficit or surplus (total). Update column 2 of Table 13.1 . Next, find the historical data for the standardized (full-employment) budget deficit or surplus as a percentage of potential GDP. Update column 3 of Table 13.1 . Is fiscal policy more expansionary or less expansionary than it was in 2005? up, and which are down? What has been the trend of the composite index over the past 3 months?