GDP measures total economic output within a country over a specific period. Investors use GDP to anticipate market shifts and adjust portfolios accordingly. Buying cyclical stocks during GDP growth ...

What’s the best way to gauge the health of the economy? Gross domestic product, a measurement that calculates the value of all goods and services produced, has long been a good way to take the ...

The U.S. economy, since 2009, has experienced puzzling behavior. Labor markets, corporate profits, the stock market and company as well as individual balance sheets have turned in strong performances.

Mary Hall is a editor for Investopedia's Advisor Insights, in addition to being the editor of several books and doctoral papers. Mary received her bachelor's in English from Kent State University with ...

Investopedia contributors come from a range of backgrounds, and over 25 years there have been thousands of expert writers and editors who have contributed. Erika Rasure is globally-recognized as a ...

When it is growing, especially if inflation is not a problem, workers and businesses are generally better off than when it is not Many professions commonly use acronyms. To doctors, accountants, and ...

GDP is a measure of whether the economy is expanding or contracting. While this factor can’t be taken alone, negative GDP is a strong indicator of a future recession. Investors should develop an ...

GDP measures all final goods/services produced in a defined area, adjusted for inflation to show real growth. GDP growth rates, especially real GDP annually, are key indicators of economic activity ...

Why does economic growth matter? The answer for economists is that it measures an important component of social progress—namely, economic welfare, or how much benefit members of society get from the ...

U.S. GDP includes four components. Moreover, each component has a specific weighting and hence, a certain level of influence on total GDP. This influence also changes over time based on a number of ...

Since World War II, most countries around the world have come to use gross domestic product, or GDP, as the core metric for prosperity. The GDP measures market output: the monetary value of all the ...

ONE of Albert Einstein’s greatest insights was that no matter how, where, when or by whom it is measured, the speed of light in a vacuum is constant. Measurements of light’s price, though, are a ...