1. Quick turnaround: it's only the 12th day past month end.
2. Broad barometer: earnings and sales from 'leading indicator companies' such as Alcoa and GM/Ford are very helpful, but so is having a quick read on retail sales, broadly, seems to me.
But, it appears that retail sales may be, per economists, only anecdotally useful, as they're not a component of the leading indicators index:
