Hundreds of economic and stock-market indicators exist, but many won’t be relevant – even if you could decipher them.  Here are a few stock market indicators that are both reliable and readable to everyday investors.

South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, approved an additional $20.7 billion (28.9 trillion won) to the national budget – with $13 billion intended to stem the nation’s economic decline and rising unemployment.

Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) said it will buy rival Petro-Canada (PCZ) for $14.9 billion (C$18.43 billion) in a deal that will create Canadia’s largest energy company, with a refining capacity of 433,000 barrels per day.

Bernie Madoff’s guilty plea to a decades-long $50 billion-plus Ponzi scheme pretty much guarantees the 70-year-old will have his likeness immortalized on the Mt. Rushmore of scammers.

The consumer price index (CPI) moved 0.4% in February, a little higher than expected and a sign that consumers are dipping their feet back into the water – slowly.

A pair of crucial economic indices seesawed in February, helping some analysts to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Like a vanquished enemy, inflation has been out of sight and out of mind. But old enemies can resurrect themselves.  And that’s just what’s going to happen with inflation, two fixed-income experts say.

The World Bank estimates that the global economy will likely shrink for the first time since World War II – at least five percentage points below potential – and emerging markets will suffer the hardest hits with severe long-term implications.

More than 8.3 million mortgage holders in the United States – one in five homeowners – are underwater. That is, they owe more money on their house than their house worth.

Russia’s continuing weakness could cost the country its membership in one of the most identifiable and esteemed investor acronyms – the BRIC nations.