statement of earnings noun [C]. âº ACCOUNTING, FINANCE an âofficial âdocument that is âpart of a company's âfinancial âresults and gives details of its âprofit or âloss for a particular âperiod: During the âboom âyears, âcompanies put out exaggerated âstatements of âearnings.
Lagging indicators report on data that comes from past activity. The difference between leading and lagging indicators is the latter can indicate whether the nationâs economy is actually growing or contracting. A few examples of leading indicators may be bond yields or housing starts. Bonds are typically safe investments with little inherent risk.
But it's wrong. As Richard Bernstein noted last week, most of the numbers in the monthly employment report are LEADING or COINCIDENT indicators of the economy. Only one, the UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, is a lagging indicator. Taken together, the employment indicators suggest that employment and the economy are still very weak.