My Investing Notebook :: Learning from the pros; making decisions on my own. ::

Here are the four best indicators for tracking the economy, as recommended by Money magazine.

Follow these indicators and you’ll be as well informed as many professional investors.

Bureau of Labor Statisticts employment report (available bls.gov/ces), which tracks job creation.

The ISM Reports on Business (ism.ws), which take the pulse of the nation痴 industrial and service sectors by surveying executives in fields ranging from agriculture to retailing.

Consumer Confidence Index (conference-board.org), which gives a sense of consumers� willingness to spend and thus spur economic growth.

U.S. Leading Index (also at conference-board.org), a compilation of 10 economic indicators designed to predict how the economy will be behaving three months down the road